Barbara Goodheart, ELS

Emergency department (ED) clinicians could start patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) on the road to life-saving recovery by beginning buprenorphine treatment during an ED visit. But many patients aren’t given a prescription when they leave the ED. Why is this? Research on treating OUD in the ED has tended to focus on clinician-reported barriers, such as regulatory … [Read more...] about Study: “Just Give Them a Choice!”—What Patients Think About Starting Buprenorphine or Methadone in the ED

Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) experiencing homelessness face an increased risk of opioid overdose and death, compared with patients with OUD who are housed. Unfortunately, those lacking housing are less likely than those with housing to enter and stay in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs—programs they urgently need. A new study funded in part by the … [Read more...] about Study: Low-Barrier-to-Treatment-Access Programs Help Patients Experiencing Homelessness Enter MMT and Stay in Treatment

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, experts at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI)—one of the largest systems in the U.S. for delivering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)—quickly realized the need for streamlining methadone delivery in their 10 opioid treatment programs (OTPs). They reasoned that a new age—and the COVID-19 era certainly qualifies—calls for out-of-the-box … [Read more...] about Mount Sinai Beth Israel Streamlines Procedures in COVID-19, Speeds Medication Delivery to OTP Patients

“No Home to Take Methadone to,” a story recently published on this website, investigated the effects of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions on opioid treatment programs (OTPs). That story shows it’s essential to listen to what patients, not just providers, say about patients’ treatment experiences. It also shows that most participants found their experience with addiction service … [Read more...] about Two Studies Look at Effects of Relaxed COVID-19 Restrictions on OTPs—and Come Up With Different Answers

Key inequities in addiction care could be managed by correcting shortcomings uncovered in a recent qualitative study. The study was published in Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, and was conducted by researchers at Boston University and Boston Medical Center. It was drawn from a parent study, REpeated dose Behavioral intervention to reduce Opioid Overdose … [Read more...] about “No Home to Take Methadone to”: Study Reveals Inequities in Addiction Care