The study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed 283 studies published between 1960 and 2021 that focused on physician-described barriers to adopting practices for addiction. The studies included feedback from 66,732 physicians, primarily in general practice, internal medicine and family medicine.
Researchers found that in 81% of the studies analyzed, physicians said institutional environment, such as lack of support from employers and insufficient resources, was the most common reason for not adopting treatment options. The other reasons were insufficient skill (74%), lack of cognitive capacity to manage a certain level of care (74%) and inadequate knowledge (72%).
Around 66% of the studies cited negative social influences and 56% cited fear of harming the patient-physician relationship as additional reasons why physicians did not intervene in addiction.
In 2022, nearly 49 million people in the U.S. had at least one substance use disorder, but only about 13 million, or roughly 25%, received treatment in the past year, according to the study.
