Clinician recommendation of 12-step meeting attendance and discussion regarding disclosure of buprenorphine use among patients in office-based opioid treatment.

BACKGROUND: Clinicians are encouraged to include 12-step meetings, such as Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA), as ancillary services for the treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs), even though some of these groups may not fully accept individuals receiving buprenorphine. Little is known about whether clinicians actually discuss with patients the issue of disclosure of buprenorphine use at 12-step meetings.
METHODS: An anonymous survey was offered to patients enrolled in office-based opioid treatment with buprenorphine to assess whether their clinicians recommended attendance at 12-step meetings and discussed the issue of disclosing their use of buprenorphine to other members. The patients' attendance at 12-step meetings was also assessed, as well as beliefs and prior experiences related to disclosure of buprenorphine use at 12-step meetings.
RESULTS: Thirty patients completed the survey. Twenty-one respondents (75.0%) indicated that they were encouraged to attend meetings, but only 9 (33.3%) reported having any discussion with their clinicians about the issue of disclosing their use of buprenorphine at meetings. The majority (76.7%) reported attending 12-step meetings at least occasionally, and 70% reported finding the meetings helpful. Nearly one third (30%) expressed concerns that other 12-step members would not accept them if their buprenorphine status were known, and a similar proportion (37%) frequently avoided disclosing their use of buprenorphine.
CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians recommended 12-step meetings to most patients but did not routinely discuss issues of disclosure. Despite utilizing 12-step meetings and reporting them to be helpful, many avoided disclosing their use of buprenorphine to others. More research is needed to better understand how clinicians may assist patients to best utilize 12-step meetings.