32,000 physicians who are waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, of which 2,477 can prescribe up to 275 patients.
Buprenorphine may be one of the go-to medications to help patients wean off opioids such as heroin. However, it doesn’t come without side effects.
There is also potential for misuse of buprenorphine; during 2006 and 2007, 20 to 35 percent of those surveyed in research published in the journal Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience stated that they misused buprenorphine. The studies, published in 2015, also looked at 129 admissions to outpatient treatment programs and concluded that 49 percent of participants misused buprenorphine in the past 90 days.
Tapering off buprenorphine can also result in severe withdrawal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating, and flu-like symptoms. One of the more serious side effects of buprenorphine is pulmonary aspiration — when vomit is inhaled into the lungs.
The psychological withdrawal can also be agonizing, and “much more challenging,” according to Dr. Sean Patrick Nordt, associate professor of at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
To address the psychological withdrawal symptoms, OffBup plans to include guided meditations, relaxation exercises, and on-demand multimedia including audio and video.
According to Agu, the goal of the team behind OffBup is to have the app developed in the first year, and then launch a pilot program at Butler Hospital in year-two.
