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There were more than 2,000 attendees at the 2018 conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), held at the Marriott Marquis in New York City in March. The five-day meeting was full of presentations, workshops, and formal and informal gatherings, where leaders and staffers in the field of treatment of opioid use disorders exchanged … [Read more...] about AATOD Conference Recap: Field Has Funding, Now Needs Infrastructure

Elinore F. McCance-Katz, MD, PhD, assistant secretary for mental health and substance use at the Department of Health and Human Services, and head of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is passionate about the importance of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders (OUDs). And she considers medications and comprehensive … [Read more...] about An Interview With Dr. McCance-Katz On Importance of Medications and Psychosocial Treatment

For the first time ever, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent a letter to a state attorney general, stating that judges generally may not order people off addiction medications such as methadone or buprenorphine to get custody of their children—or for any other reasons. The Legal Action Center publicized the letter, which was issued in October 2017 by the Acting U.S. … [Read more...] about Department of Justice Tells State Attorney General: ADA Protects People On MAT

In a study of “open access” treatment with methadone maintenance, reducing barriers to treatment led to a tripling of the patient census and elimination of the waiting list, with all patients getting same-day treatment. There were no ill effects on the program’s financial stability. Facilities conducting the study include the APT Foundation, a not-for-profit opioid treatment … [Read more...] about With “Open-Access,” Methadone Treatment Can Increase Patient Census and Eliminate Waiting Lists: Research

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder provided to incarcerated individuals sharply reduced overdose deaths after the inmates were released, researchers in Rhode Island have found. The reduction was so large that it contributed to a greater than 12% overall population-level decline in overdose fatalities in the state, according to the study, which is … [Read more...] about MAT During Incarceration Reduces Overdose Deaths