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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Carla K. Johnson | AP

Opioid addiction patients sometimes cheat on drug tests: why doctors don’t catch it

This file photo shows packets of buprenorphine, a drug used to control heroin and opioid cravings. Doctors often use urine tests to make sure patients taking the medication for opioid addiction are sticking with the treatment. (AP)

Doctors often use urine tests to make sure patients taking medication for opioid addiction are sticking with treatment, but a new study suggests they might be missing some cheaters.

Nearly 8% of these patients sometimes spike their urine by adding their treatment medicine, buprenorphine, to the samples. Such spiking can go unnoticed by doctors who use rapid tests instead of more sophisticated lab tests that can reveal who’s cheating.

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