Denying access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction has been a long-standing practice throughout the criminal justice system, with devastating consequences—unnecessary incarceration, increased spread of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases; drug overdose, sometimes fatal; and recidivism rather than recovery. Many arrestees and inmates in U.S. … [Read more...] about Denying Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in the Criminal Justice System—Is It Legal?
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SAMHSA Panel: No Mandatory ECG Testing for OTP Patients
A panel convened by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has stopped short of recommending mandatory electrocardiograms (ECGs) on patients treated with methadone in opioid treatment programs (OTPs). In “QT Interval Screening in Methadone Maintenance Treatment: Report of a SAMHSA Expert Panel,” published November 3 in the Journal of Addictive … [Read more...] about SAMHSA Panel: No Mandatory ECG Testing for OTP Patients
Prospective Employer $37,500 for Not Hiring Methadone Patient
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on January 23 announced that the United Insurance Company of America will pay $37,500 to Craig Burns, whom the company refused to hire because his pre-employment drug test was positive for methadone. Mr. Burns, a patient in an opioid treatment program (OTP) since 2004, was offered a job in North Carolina by the insurance … [Read more...] about Prospective Employer $37,500 for Not Hiring Methadone Patient
Vermont to Expand Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction Using a Managed Care Approach
Vermont is embarking on an ambitious initiative to expand medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in response to the state’s prescription opioid addiction epidemic. The expansion represents the first phase of a larger plan for Vermont to develop an integrated treatment continuum for other substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders through a managed care … [Read more...] about Vermont to Expand Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction Using a Managed Care Approach
Patient Advocacy Group Works to Improve Treatment in NY OTPs
A new group, VOCAL-NY, modeling themselves after some of the aggressive organizations that brought attention to the AIDS crisis in New York, is focusing their attention on methadone maintenance treatment in opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Last year, a group of VOCAL members went to the state capitol to get the attention of Gov. Andrew Cuomo about hepatitis C testing and … [Read more...] about Patient Advocacy Group Works to Improve Treatment in NY OTPs
