Although either methadone or buprenorphine can treat opioid use disorders effectively, patients may have good reasons to prefer one or the other. Giving patients a choice, when possible, can lead to better outcomes. But patients don’t always have a choice about treatment—and even when they do, they may not realize it. The availability of a given medication varies among drug … [Read more...] about Methadone or Buprenorphine? Letting Patients Choose May Improve Outcomes
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Joint Commission Makes Key Changes in Accreditation Standards for OTPs
A host of changes in accreditation standards are coming for opioid treatment programs (OTPs) from the Joint Commission. The standards are based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) guidelines, published in March of 2015, “Federal Guidelines for Opioid Treatment Programs” (http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/201503270300). SAMHSA established … [Read more...] about Joint Commission Makes Key Changes in Accreditation Standards for OTPs
How Treatment in an OTP Is Paid for: It Costs a Lot More Than the Price of the Medication
A December 30 article in Modern Healthcare blithely described the cost of methadone—the medication—as $4,000 a year, and went on to repeat the error several times, calculating that the medication costs $76 a week (http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20151230/NEWS/151239992). Methadone actually costs less than $7 a week. Although the article had a bottom-line message that … [Read more...] about How Treatment in an OTP Is Paid for: It Costs a Lot More Than the Price of the Medication
Employment Rights for People on MMT: SUDS, HIV, Hepatitis
Five years ago, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ordered Hussey Copper to pay $85,000 because the Leetsdale, Pennsylvania-based company refused to hire a job applicant who was in methadone maintenance treatment. Donald Teaford was offered a job as a production laborer, but the offer was rescinded—and this was illegal. The offer was conditional upon Mr. … [Read more...] about Employment Rights for People on MMT: SUDS, HIV, Hepatitis
Success Story: Advocate Opens First OTP, Second to Open This Spring
Counseling Solutions opened its first opioid treatment program (OTP) in Chatsworth, Georgia, in February, with the second, in Murphy, North Carolina, set to open this summer. Zachary Talbott, CMA, with his business partner Keith Jones, started the process in May of 2015, going through all of the steps—community approval, then accreditation by the Joint Commission, the Substance … [Read more...] about Success Story: Advocate Opens First OTP, Second to Open This Spring
