Lagisetty PA, et al. - Throughout the United States, a continuous increase in the opioid mortality rates is observed; however, only among communities with higher income and low percentages of racial/ethnic minorities, buprenorphine hydrochloride treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) might have grown. For treating OUD, buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, is identified as one of three evidence-based medications that can legally be prescribed in office-based settings.