Today an extraordinary project conducted by the National Association for State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) and the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) revealed how many programs and patients are in Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs). All 1,826 OTPs were surveyed; the response rate was 85%. From that response, the census…

Continue Reading First-of-a-kind OTP census shows vast majority of patients treated with methadone

In the setting of open-access opioid treatment programs (OTPs), the authors of this study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence sought to determine if patients with benzodiazepine exposure at study entry would have retention rates similar to those without benzodiazepine exposure. Comparing the retention rate for the two groups, the authors found that baseline benzodiazepine exposure…

Continue Reading Study: OTP Retention Unaffected by Benzodiazepines

The Opioid Treatment Access Act (OTAA) would allow non-opioid-treatment-provider (OTP) physicians with training in addiction to prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD). This is from Section 4, the highly contested OTAA provision, which the big proprietary OTPs oppose (see the recently launched https://programnotapill.com/) but which some of the smaller ones are in favor of. Leave…

Continue Reading OTPs facing increasing pressure from supporters of OTAA

Getting methadone in prison: It takes work When a correctional system entertains the idea of something established medicine accepts as gold standard – namely, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone or buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUT) – there is an uphill battle ahead, even for those within the system who believe in it. In Rhode…

Continue Reading Part 3: Methadone in Rhode Island corrections, the psychology of working with another discipline

The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) and Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) have been at the forefront of trying to reform methadone treatment, always with an eye on patient safety and quality treatment, also while making treatment more accessible. But, as AATOD president Mark Parrino puts it, it’s important to ask “Access…

Continue Reading Mythbusting on AATOD and methadone/buprenorphine bills

RIDOC medical director on reaching out to corrections staff on methadone and buprenorphine Corrections staff are suspicious of methadone and buprenorphine. They know these drugs can be diverted, they have some kind of vague feeling that they can make people feel better (not the same as getting “high” but the nuances can get lost), and…

Continue Reading Report from AATOD: Rhode Island and corrections, Part 2

A remote tracking system to maximize methadone take-homes may hold promise for the future of the field. At least that’s what Michael Giles, M.D., the founder of Sonara, hopes. As a resident in psychiatry working in an opioid treatment program (OTP), Giles found that patients had a hard time staying in treatment – or couldn’t…

Continue Reading Sonara: A digitized label for methadone take-homes

The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) recognized contributions to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) with nine awards to individuals nominated and selected by their peers. The Nyswander/Dole award, named for the doctors who created methadone as a treatment for OUD, was awarded to nine individuals who were nominated and selected…

Continue Reading Awards at AATOD: Patient Advocacy and More

Medications for OUD in corrections: Tips from Linda Hurley, leader of CODAC Many changes have taken place in Rhode Island, one of the most advanced states in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), in corrections. Prior to 1994, any patient in methadone treatment who was arrested and put in jail or prison was not medicated…

Continue Reading Report from AATOD: 5 years of success in Rhode Island corrections