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SAMHSA Issues Guidance on  Labeling of Take-Home Medication Bottles

 On May 14, 2008, Dr. Clark sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to OTPs, emphasizing that according to 42 C.F.R., take-home medication bottles should be properly labeled with the OTP’s name, address, and telephone number. He noted that SAMHSA recommends also including on the label the name of the patient, physician, and medication, and the dispensing date. He added, “We believe that the inclusion of the above information on take-home bottle labels will help reduce diversion of methadone and buprenorphine and improve patient safety.” 

The Dear Colleague letter can be accessed at: http://www.dpt.samhsa.gov/pdf/dearColleague/
DearColleague_BottleLabels_051408.pdf

 

AATOD Issues Methadone Induction Advisory

On April 25, 2008, the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) issued an advisory on Dosage Induction with Methadone in the OTP.

The advisory excerpts references from SAMHSA/CSAT’s TIP 43 “Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction in Opioid Treatment Programs (2005),” in addition to SAMHSA/CSAT’s Guidelines for the Accreditation of Opioid Treatment Programs (July 20, 2007), and Dr. Westley Clark’s correspondence to the field (September 4, 2007) concerning this topic.

The advisory can be accessed at: http://www.aatod.org/dosage_induction.html