In a process that began six years ago and is likely to continue for months, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is proposing to revise the confidentiality regulations governing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records, also known as 42 CFR [Code of Federal Regulations] Part 2. The current rule, first promulgated almost 40 years … [Read more...] about Longtime Confidentiality Rule: SUD Consent Provisions Up for Change
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AATOD Responds to HHS Buprenorphine-Cap Proposal
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) have been concerned about a proposal to raise the number of patients a physician can treat with buprenorphine, because they want to make sure patients receive adequate services. The federal government, which underwrote the development of buprenorphine, was concerned as well. So, when treatment with buprenorphine was established under the Drug … [Read more...] about AATOD Responds to HHS Buprenorphine-Cap Proposal
Counseling in OTPs: A Necessary Part of Treatment with Medication
Counseling is a required component of an opioid treatment program (OTP) under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) guidelines. It’s also what differentiates the kind of medication-assisted treatment methadone patients receive in an OTP from the office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) buprenorphine patients receive. But what is counseling? In many cases, it … [Read more...] about Counseling in OTPs: A Necessary Part of Treatment with Medication
Psychosocial Intervention and Medications in Treating Opioid Use Disorders: A Review
Opioid overdose rates have risen to epidemic levels, underscoring the need for comprehensive treatment of opioid misuse. Effective medications are available, but there’s “a dearth of empirical research on the optimal psychosocial interventions to use with the medications.” That’s according to the findings from a literature review recently published in the Journal of Addiction … [Read more...] about Psychosocial Intervention and Medications in Treating Opioid Use Disorders: A Review
When OTP Patients Are in the Criminal Justice System: Collaborate and Communicate
Drug courts, corrections, and in fact the entire criminal justice system is undergoing a sea of change relative to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid addiction. Not long ago, judges dismissed out of hand any recommendation to divert an offender from prison or jail to outpatient treatment with methadone. Inside prison and jail, methadone treatment was increasingly … [Read more...] about When OTP Patients Are in the Criminal Justice System: Collaborate and Communicate