Advancing Equity in Urine Drug Testing in Primary Care-Based Buprenorphine Treatment

Urine drug testing as currently applied in office-based buprenorphine treatment settings can be used in a punitive rather than therapeutic manner. Those who screen positive for non-prescribed substances can suffer severe consequences, including treatment discontinuation and family separation. Montefiore Medical Center will be developing and disseminating two evidence-based toolkits. The first will guide patient–physician decision-making on whether, when, and how to use urine drug screening. The second, a medical and legal toolkit, will inform patients of their rights around drug screening. The toolkits will be tested in two primary care–based buprenorphine treatment settings and disseminated to at least 30 clinical sites across New York City.