Every day, patients with opioid use disorder walk into clinics, emergency rooms, and hospitals — and leave without treatment. It's time to change that. Treat them when you meet them.
Opioid use disorder is one of the deadliest and most undertreated conditions in America. The gap between those who need help and those who receive it is costing lives every single day.
3.7% of adults and 3.6% of adolescents in the US currently need treatment for opioid use disorder.
Nearly half of all people who need OUD treatment will never receive it — often because providers don't offer it at the point of care.
Of those who do receive treatment, only 1 in 4 receive the gold-standard medication-assisted treatment proven to save lives.
Over 80,000 Americans die annually from opioid overdoses — a number that drops dramatically with proper medication treatment.
The concept is simple: when a healthcare provider encounters a patient who needs OUD treatment — in a clinic, an ER, a pain practice, anywhere — they treat them right then and there. No referral. No waiting. No lost opportunity. Just care, delivered at the moment it matters most.
Don't send patients away. Every provider with a DEA license can now prescribe buprenorphine for OUD — with no patient limits. Use that power.
Medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine reduces mortality by approximately 50%, improves social functioning, and dramatically reduces overdose risk.
Pair medication treatment with behavioral health services. The combination of addiction medicine and mental health support delivers the best outcomes.
The X-waiver is gone. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 means any DEA-licensed provider can prescribe buprenorphine to any number of patients today.
Traditional buprenorphine initiation requires patients to be in withdrawal first — a barrier that stops many from starting treatment. Microdosing changes that by allowing patients to start treatment without stopping their current medications.
Initiate a low dose of buprenorphine (typically less than 1mg). The patient can continue their current medications — no forced withdrawal.
Slowly increase the buprenorphine dose over 7 to 14 days until a therapeutic dose is reached, monitoring for symptoms throughout.
Once a therapeutic buprenorphine dose is reached, the full opioid agonist can be promptly discontinued — no taper needed.
Pair medication with behavioral health services — ideally daily during induction. Licensed counselors and telehealth options make this accessible.
Buprenorphine is one of the most effective and safest tools available for treating opioid use disorder. Its unique pharmacology makes it both powerful and safer than traditional opioids.
Estimated 50% reduction in mortality among people with OUD. Simply starting treatment saves lives.
Unlike traditional opioids, buprenorphine has a plateau effect — even very high doses are well tolerated, dramatically reducing overdose risk.
Any DEA-licensed provider can prescribe buprenorphine for OUD with no patient caps since the 2023 repeal of X-waiver requirements.
Improved social functioning, decreased infectious disease transmission, reduced crime, better quality of life, and higher treatment retention rates.
Dr. Paul Lynch is a pain management physician and the founder of US Pain Care (California Pain), a multidisciplinary practice treating chronic pain, opioid use disorder, and behavioral health conditions under one roof.
His "Treat 'Em When You Meet 'Em" movement is a call to action for every healthcare provider in America: stop turning away patients with OUD and start treating them at the point of contact. With X-waiver requirements eliminated and buprenorphine proven to cut mortality in half, there is no longer any excuse to delay treatment.
Dr. Lynch has presented this approach at major pain and addiction medicine conferences and is committed to training providers across the country to integrate OUD treatment into their practice — immediately, effectively, and compassionately.
Whether you're a provider, a health system, a payer, or someone who has been affected by the opioid crisis — there is a role for you in this movement.