Key points
- The overall national buprenorphine dispensing rate remained relatively stable from 2019 to 2023, with the rate in 2023 at 4.7 buprenorphine prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons (a total of more than 15 million buprenorphine prescriptions).
- Buprenorphine dispensing rates varied widely across the country.
- States with the highest buprenorphine dispensing rates per 100 persons in 2023 include West Virginia (25.9), Vermont (23.7), Kentucky (22.4), and Maine (15.7).
- States with the lowest buprenorphine dispensing rates per 100 persons in 2023 include Iowa (1.3), Texas (1.4), California (1.7), and Hawaii (1.7).
Buprenorphine data
Buprenorphine is an FDA-approved evidence-based medication used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD).12 It can be dispensed through retail pharmacies. The data in the maps show the geographic distribution in the United States of retail pharmacy dispensed buprenorphine prescriptionsA per 100 persons per year from 2019–2023.B
Data are displayed as maps that portray the estimated rate of buprenorphine prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons per year for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Click on a state to reveal its buprenorphine dispensing rate or view the corresponding data table for additional information.
Content Source:
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Buprenorphine formulations commonly prescribed for treating pain (Belbuca and Butrans) were excluded.
- Source for all dispensing data: IQVIA Xponent 2019–2023. IQVIA Xponent is based on a sample of approximately 54,600 retail (non-hospital) pharmacies, which dispense nearly 94% of all retail prescriptions in the United States. For this database, a prescription is a new or refilled prescription dispensed at a retail pharmacy in the sample and paid for by commercial insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, cash or its equivalent, and other third-party coverage. This database does not include mail-order prescriptions. Geographic location is based on the location of the prescriber. Methadone dispensed through methadone treatment programs is not included in the IQVIA Xponent data. For the calculation of dispensing rates, numerators are the projected total number of buprenorphine prescriptions dispensed annually at the state, county, or national level. Annual resident population denominators were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau.