Correctional Facilities See LAI Buprenorphine as Diversion Solution
Event summary
- A survey of 180 correctional professionals across U.S. jail and prison facilities was published in the Journal of Correctional Health Care on April 16, 2026.
- 88% of jail respondents and 87% of prison respondents believe long-acting injectable (LAI) buprenorphine can reduce medication misuse.
- The survey highlights staffing and coordination gaps as key barriers to effective medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) implementation.
- The survey was funded by Indivior and conducted in partnership with the NCCHC, with respondents drawn from NCCHC-registered individuals.
The big picture
Indivior's survey underscores the growing recognition of long-acting injectable treatments as a potential solution to medication diversion and adherence challenges within the U.S. correctional system, a market with significant unmet needs. The findings align with a broader policy shift towards addressing opioid use disorder as a chronic condition and integrating treatment into criminal justice settings. However, the identified barriers suggest that adoption will depend on overcoming systemic issues and securing adequate funding, potentially impacting Indivior’s market penetration.
What we're watching
- Funding Dynamics
- The survey explicitly mentions cost and limited access as barriers, suggesting that securing consistent funding for LAI buprenorphine programs will be crucial for widespread adoption.
- Implementation Hurdles
- While correctional staff view LAI buprenorphine favorably, the identified structural barriers—staffing, coordination, and administration—indicate that implementation will require significant operational and logistical changes.
- Generalizability
- The survey's limitations, specifically that respondents are drawn from NCCHC-registered individuals, raise questions about how representative the findings are across the entire U.S. correctional system.
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