# Toward Fairness in Machine Learning Models for Predicting Treatment Retention and Premature Discontinuation in Medication for Opioid Use Disorder

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.22113 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.22113/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 10 of its 65 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 Aug 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [A Survey on Bias and Fairness in Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.09635/) (2019)
- [Certifying and removing disparate impact](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.3756/) (2014)
- [Mitigating Unwanted Biases with Adversarial Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.07593/) (2018)
- [Multiaccuracy: Black-Box Post-Processing for Fairness in Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.12317/) (2018)
- [A Confidence-Based Approach for Balancing Fairness and Accuracy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1601.05764/) (2016)
- [Does "AI" stand for augmenting inequality in the era of covid-19 healthcare?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.07844/) (2021)
- [Unmasking Bias in AI: A Systematic Review of Bias Detection and Mitigation Strategies in Electronic Health Record-based Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.19917/) (2023)
- [Unlawful Proxy Discrimination: A Framework for Challenging Inherently Discriminatory Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.14050/) (2024)
- [Identifying Risk of Opioid Use Disorder for Patients Taking Opioid Medications with Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.04589/) (2020)
- [Random Forest-Based Prediction of Stroke Outcome](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.00638/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Persistent low retention and completion rates in medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) have driven the use of machine learning (ML) models to predict retention and identify patients at risk of premature discontinuation. However, the fairness of these models across patient populations remains largely unexplored, raising concerns about their application in treatment decision support. This study systematically assesses algorithmic fairness in ML models for predicting MOUD retention and premature discontinuation and investigates the effectiveness of bias mitigation techniques. Using the cross-sectional Treatment Episode Data Set-Discharges (TEDS-D), which includes treatment episodes for individuals in the U.S. discharged between 2015 and 2019, we trained four ML models to predict premature treatment discontinuation and retention beyond 180 days among individuals receiving outpatient MOUD. We evaluated overall performance and subgroup-level error rates across patient subgroups defined by race, ethnicity, age, and sex, complemented by model explanation analyses. We further assessed bias mitigation techniques and their effects on both fairness and predictive performance. Our findings demonstrate that ML models for MOUD outcome prediction can exhibit subgroup-level performance gaps even when overall predictive performance appears acceptable and that bias mitigation can reduce, but not fully eliminate, these gaps without trade-offs. By demonstrating the importance of fairness-aware evaluation and transparent reporting of subgroup performance, this study provides practical insights for the responsible and context-sensitive use of ML models for risk stratification and care prioritization in MOUD treatment settings.