The National Alliance of Advocates
for Buprenorphine Treatment
Buprenorphine (Suboxone®, Subutex®) is an opioid medication used to treat opioid
addiction in the privacy of a physician's office.1 Buprenorphine can be dispensed
for take-home use, by prescription.1 This, in addition to the pharmacological
and safety
profile of buprenorphine, makes it an attractive treatment for patients addicted to opioids.2
Does buprenorphine show up in an employer drug screening?
Buprenorphine has to be specifically tested for and isn’t commonly included on standard drug screen panels. Buprenorphine will NOT cause a positive result on tests for other opiates. The typical urine tests used to detect methadone, oxycodone, heroin, and other opioids check for a different metabolite than that found with buprenorphine and will not show a positive result in buprenorphine (only) maintained patients.
There are in-office tests specifically for buprenorphine that will detect it. These tests are not common but can be purchased on the internet, however we know of none that are CLIA-waved.
When reading in-office dip-strip tests be aware that faint lines are not ‘false positives” see this image of how to read this type of test correctly, and follow the manufacturer instructions: Reading test results
A typical employer multi drug screen might consist of a test for Amphetamine (AMP); Barbiturates (BAR)(Phenobarbital, Secobarbitol, Butalbital); Benzodiazepines(BZO)(Valium, Xanax, Librium, Serax, Rohypnol); Cocaine (COC); Marijuana (THC); Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)(Ecstasy); Opiates (OPI); Oxycodone (OXY); Phencyclidine (PCP); Propoxyphene (PPX)(Darvon compounds); and Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA)
Employers that expand their tests might include some of the following: Hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), Methaqualone (Quaaludes), Methadone, Ethanol (Alcohol)
It is very unusual for an employer to test for buprenorphine, at least for now.
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- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Talk Paper, T0238, October 8, 2002, Subutex and Suboxone approved to treat opiate dependence.
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Clinical Guidelines for the Use of Buprenorphine in the Treatment of Opioid Addiction. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series 40. DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 04-3939. Rockville, Md: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2004.