Buprenorphine is a prescription medication used to treat moderate to severe pain and chronic, around-the-clock pain that will last a long period of time. Buprenorphine is also used to treat patients who are dependent on opioids (addiction to opioid drugs including heroin and narcotic painkillers).
Buprenorphine belongs to a group of drugs called opioid partial agonist-antagonists, which help to relieve pain by binding to certain opioid receptors in the body. It treats dependence because it produces similar effects to opioids.
This medication comes in skin patch form and is...