2022
Many patients seeking help for a health-related crisis are relieved to learn that their new caregiver has had a similar experience—especially when it’s treatment for …
A new report based on death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped short of saying that the liberalized take-home policies …
The big news in NY is methadone in prisons, but who will bid?
Attendees of the Coalition of Medication-Assisted Treatment Providers and Advocates (COMPA) methadone symposium …
COMPA symposium highlights issues of concern to NY OTPs on brink of expansion
Methadone reform is taking place in New York, which can serve as a …
When Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, attributed his investigative success to “the little grey cells”—components of the brain’s grey matter—he may well have …
The federal Department of Justice has ordered repeatedly that people in treatment or recovery on medications to treat opioid use disorder are protected by the …
A recent article based on the two-day methadone workshop by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine distills several of the messages of that …
In a policy document on “Methadone Reform” updated this spring by the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), the organization has clearly …
In the era of illicit fentanyl, multiple doses of naloxone are sometimes needed to reverse opioid overdoses, a recent literature review published in Substance Abuse …
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 …
The American Psychiatric Association annual meeting, gathering live for the first time since 2019, will be in New Orleans May 21-25. The first sold-out session …
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is in the middle of a Congressional move to change it. On May 6, Rep. Frank …
The unrolling story of methadone vans in New York is being enthusiastically assisted by Allegra Schorr. She heads the Coalition of Medication-Assisted Treatment Providers and …
This month, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee conducted a hearing focusing19 bills, most of them focusing on substance use disorders (SUDs). One of …
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. …
Last week Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York announced the availability of up to $1 million for establishing vans to provide medications, including methadone and …
The Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration (SAMHSA) this month (March 2022) issued guidance on its extensions of exemptions for methadone take-home rules going beyond …
On March 3-4, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) hosted a workshop on how to expand access to methadone. We covered the entire …
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) on March 2 sent letters to the sponsors of proposals which would liberalize methadone regulations. …
With opioid overdoses at the highest level ever and still going up – more than 100,000 a year – this is not the time for …
Like the Norcross bill introduced in the House of Representatives last year (see https://atforum.com/2021/12/norcross-bill-modernize-methadone-treatment/) the Markey-Paul bill to allow pharmacy dispensing of methadone (see https://atforum.com/2022/02/bill-pharmacy-dispensing-methadone-senate/) …
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 …
A bill to allow pharmacies to dispense methadone for opioid treatment was introduced in the Senate Feb. 10 by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and …
Both a medical doctor, an OBOT provider, and an OTP director, Yngvild Olsen, M.D. is well-known to the methadone and buprenorphine treatment fields. Last month she became …
Last year a commentary on the Methadone Access Research Task Force, created by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network, recommended ways to …
Buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder in prisons and jails started increasing with the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers analyzing sales data have found. Despite …
More than 50% of patients treated with methadone or buprenorphine drop out of treatment, mostly with lower than recommended doses, a recent study conducted in …
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 12 said it will require a warning about possible dental problems caused by dissolving buprenorphine in the …
Richard Saitz, M.D., M.P.H., internationally and locally respected in alcohol and drug addiction research, died January 15 from pancreatic cancer. Dr. Saitz, who changed the …
“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). …
The end of last year marked the first-ever announcement of federal grants for harm reduction — $30 million to be spent on programs which distribute …
The end of 2021 saw several aggressive new harm reduction initiatives coming out of the federal Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the …
Paul Edward Bowman, an advocate of recovery who worked closely with the methadone and buprenorphine community, died late last year. The 58-year-old was a peer …
2021
The post occupied by Belinda Greenfield, Ph.D., as New York’s Opioid Treatment Authority (SOTA) for 15 years, will be taken by Lesley Puryear, LMSW, in …
With much support from many – but not the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), because of the omission of opioid treatment …
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 …
Relaxed take-home rules for methadone patients were announced in March 2020 as a result of COVID-19, to limit the requirements for on-site dosing for many …
For the first time in recent history, New York is slated to have a medical doctor instead of a bureaucrat running the Office of Addiction …
Many hospital-based physicians are not comfortable with methadone, although they are very comfortable with morphine and a lot of other opioids used for pain. When …
Stigma—negative beliefs and misperceptions, based on misinformation or lack of information—has long plagued people with opioid use disorders (OUDs), whether they’re in treatment or not. …
On October 13 the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released provisional death data showing a record number of 99,106 overdose deaths in …
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) is recommending that federal regulators relax rules regarding methadone treatment by opioid treatment programs (OTPs). …
The review article summarized here delves into a timely question: How long should treatment for opioid addiction last?
The authors, Anjali Dhanda, MD, and Edwin Salsitz, …
Patients in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) may have other conditions that need treatment, and ignoring them can lead to relapse. An online assessment …
Race: In “Can You See Us? Providing Culturally Competent Treatment for Persons of Color,” presenters at CCSAD (Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders) in September, …
With the risk of fatal overdose at least ten times higher in released prisoners than in the general population, there’s a clear need for treating …
“I said I will never work for anyone who just makes you throw pills at the wall and see what sticks,” said Hans Watson, DO, …
Two treatment providers with many years’ experience using mobile methadone outlined their lessons learned and more in an August 11 webinar hosted by the American …
Kloxxado, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April for treatment of opioid overdose (see https://atforum.com/2021/06/naloxone-nasal-spray/), is now officially on the market. And the …
We’ve long known that opioid use disorder (OUD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and that far too many people lack access to …
Last week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a new Treatment Improvement Protocol 63 (TIP 63) on treatments for opioid use …
The new Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulations allowing brick-and-mortar opioid treatment programs (OTPs) to dispense methadone in vans took effective July 28. The American Association …
Hospital emergency departments (EDs) risk legal liability by not referring patients to treatment with methadone or buprenorphine, and for not offering such treatment themselves, according …
West Virginia doesn’t have a stellar history when it comes to treating opioid use disorder. In 2018, it led the nation in opioid-related problems (https://atforum.com/2018/09/west-virginia-leads-nation-opioid-problems/). …
When someone with an opioid use disorder (OUD) seeks help at a busy opioid treatment program (OTP), interim methadone services—providing up to 120 days of …
As of July 28, licensed opioid treatment programs (OTPs) can operate vans which dispense methadone. The final rule, issued June 28 by the Office of …
Emergency departments have long been able to give patients methadone to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) for three days. But there are problems with that: …
There are many bills and proposals which would loosen up treatment with methadone or buprenorphine. The better-known proposals to get rid of the X-waiver for …
Krista Mayes, director of the addiction treatment provider program of NSM insurance, group, talked recently about the importance of prevention for opioid treatment programs (OTPs). …
In these pages of Addiction Treatment Forum we feature two studies describing experiences at opioid treatment programs (OTPs) during COVID-19. The first study, from Bronx/Montefiore …
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a higher dose naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray product to treat opioid overdose. The newly approved product delivers …
During the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid treatment programs (OTPs) have been given some flexibility in dispensing methadone and using telemedicine and other patient services, such as …
When COVID-19 forced Bronx opioid treatment programs (OTPs) to change the way they operated, the OTPs made dramatic changes and saw better outcomes in just …
Community Medical Services (CMS), which opened two new opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in Wisconsin and Arizona recently, is the first program in the country to …
A recent study hypothesized that distribution of methadone in Ohio via Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs0and pharmacies left out so many realities facing methadone treatment …
The Talbott Legacy Centers (TLC) announced the opening of a new opioid treatment program (OTP) in Maryville, Tennessee in April. With service delivery starting April …
Three bills going through Congress would change the way buprenorphine treatment is delivered, mainly eliminating the x-waiver, the training required for the special Drug Enforcement …
The Hampden County (Massachusetts) Sheriff is helping men and women with opioid use disorder (OUD) receive treatment at CODAC Behavioral Health Care, the largest outpatient …
Women with opioid use disorder (OUD) face many challenges, among them the risk of poor outcomes in conditions involving reproductive and sexual health (RSH). Factors …
AATOD’s Las Vegas conference will be virtual, but still fun.
Attendees at the April conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) …
Writing in the “Points of View” section of the New England Journal of Medicine in January, Joshua A. Barocas, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at …
Extended Take-homes: More Good News in New York
The expansion of methadone take-homes was highlighted as a positive move in New York by Governor Andrew Cuomo …
Let’s say you’re a counselor in an opioid treatment program (OTP), and your methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program suddenly launches an open-access initiative. Within days …
2020
End of year activities in Washington, D.C. are full of important messages for opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Among the things to watch, as we head …
One of the public health concerns about prescription opioids, including for pain, is diversion, but injectables can help avoid those concerns. Last spring Hikma released …
Two bills passed by Congress and heading to the Senate would be very helpful to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and other treatment providers, and their …
We all want to thank Mallinckrodt for almost 30 years of support. This wonderful company provided support from the beginning of the newsletter, which first …
Rhode Island supported the development of Behavioral Health Link, BH Link, a 24-7 urgent care program for addiction and mental illness. The goal is to …
For people with opioid use disorder (OUD), getting into or staying in an opioid agonist treatment (OAT) program while in jail or prison has never …
When Shatterproof launched its new ATLAS (Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment, and Standards Platform) project, funded largely by insurance companies, as a pilot in six states, …
This summer, the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency (HSDA) granted a Certificate of Need (CON) for the establishment of a new opioid treatment program …
When Pinnacle Treatment Centers acquired California-based Aegis Treatment Centers this year, it gained 10,000 patients and 36 opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in its expansion. This …
Jail-based methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) sounds great in theory, but it’s rarely implemented. Yet opioid use disorders are common, with about 23% of state prisoners …
Since March, when the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) relaxed rules for methadone take-homes to decrease exposure to the coronavirus, opioid treatment …
It’s a scene that’s repeated countless times every day across the U.S. Siren blaring, an ambulance jolts to a stop at the entrance to a …
This is such an important question to resolve! Especially now, with more than a dozen states yet to decide on Medicaid expansion, while studies—some pro, …
When the pandemic hit the epicenter of New York City in mid-March, Nicholas Stavros’ 24-7 clinics across the country were already preparing. “We got in …
When the pandemic hit full force in mid-March, the State Opioid Treatment Authorities (SOTAs) had to move fast. They regulate opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in …
Lacking alternative resources, many people with substance use disorders (SUDs) visit emergency departments (EDs), especially after an overdose (OD). This gives care providers an opportunity …
Gateway Treatment Centers in Ellijay, Georgia, opened January 7—just a few weeks before the pandemic hit. But it was prepared.
The program currently has over 50 …
During the week of April 6, a sign-on letter circulating in the harm reduction and patient advocacy fields provoked some strong feelings. The letter focuses …
The CARES Act revises 42 CFR Part 2 (confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records) eliminating consent, except for the first time, after which they …
Eight investigators from medical centers in the U.S. and Canada recently looked into methadone access in the U.S., and evaluated the current availability of methadone …
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) that dispense methadone got a fast and clear release from regulations due to the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) …
Make sure you have enough medication. Follow infectious disease protocols. Protect your workforce and patients.
These are some of the recommendations from the American Association for …
https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/programs_campaigns/medication_assisted/telemedicine-dea-guidance.pdf
https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/statutes-regulations-guidelines/covid-19-guidance-otp
https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/otp-guidance-20200316.pdf
https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/sample-otp-covid-19-faqs.pdf
https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2020/03/covid-19-potential-implications-individuals-substance-use-disorders
https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/tips-social-distancing-quarantine-isolation-031620.pdf
https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/032520%20Title-By-Title%20Summary%20FINAL.pdf
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has published its long-awaited proposal for opioid treatment programs (OTPs) to deliver methadone via mobile units, bringing the medication …
Here’s something most people in the field know: buprenorphine treatment lowers the risk of overdose and death in people with opioid use disorder (OUD).
And here’s …
“We’re penalized because we’re so highly regulated and there is little or no oversight over office-based opioid treatment.” This is Margaret B. Rizzo, executive director …
The problem of methadone underuse isn’t new—but the authors of a recently published paper offer ways to fix the situation; ways that are both new …
The surprise speaker was Mark W. Parrino, MPA, president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD). And he was standing in …
There’s no question that opioid use disorder (OUD) is extremely common in incarcerated people. And yet, this group rarely receives medication treatment for OUD (MOUD).
Moreover:
Each …
Steve Woolworth, PhD, the new CEO of Evergreen Treatment Services, has big shoes to fill. Molly Carney, the longtime CEO, is retiring, and Dr. Woolworth—at …
In Colorado, some opioid treatment programs (OTPs) governed by federal methadone regulations are combining the office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) protocol with OTP. This means that …
Congress is getting annoyed with the stalling by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on mobile vans and telemedicine for treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).
A …
2019
There were more than 1,800 attendees at the 2019 conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), held October 19-23 at …
The crowning glory for many attendees of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) is the award banquet. Not only is it …
The open board meeting is the traditional opening work-sleeves session at the conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD). It’s …
There is great interest in telehealth in all of health care, including treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). One of the trickiest aspects of telehealth, …
There is a growing partnership between corrections/criminal justice and treatment for substance use disorder (SUD)—especially, treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).
For example, the Florida Association …
Politicians like the idea of cannabis as a way to cure society’s opioid ills. It’s popular (almost everyone in health care, including many opioid treatment …
The statistics tell the story: Rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) and its consequences continue to rise. Yet we have effective treatments: methadone, buprenorphine, and …
Almost exactly a half-year ago we highlighted an excellent review article on opioid use disorder (OUD) by Drs. Carlos Blanco and Nora Volkow of the …
Too often, patients drop out early from opioid agonist therapy and lose the many benefits it offers. Is there some way to intervene early and …
Vermonters didn’t hesitate when recently asked to share their opinions about the state’s hub-and-spoke (H & S) medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Instead, …
It’s generally accepted that medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone or buprenorphine is more effective than nonpharmacologic treatment in opioid use disorder (OUD).
But what about the …
Twelve opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in New York State are participating in a $7 million clinical trial integrating treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection …
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) is concerned about recent initiatives that would reduce confidentiality for patients with opioid use disorder …
Now that all the comments are in and counted, the votes are clearly against allowing law enforcement to have access to all patient records. The …
AATOD Conference: Out of the Shadows and the Continuum of Care
Every 18 months the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) holds the …
The federal government’s approval of Medicare reimbursement for opioid treatment programs (OTPs) was a huge win for patients and programs. Now, the details need to …
Even buprenorphine treatment programs are being chased out of town—at least, if the towns have anything to say about it. This happened to ReVIDA Recovery …
In another move toward expansion of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in correctional settings, CODAC Behavioral Healthcare is now providing induction to (and maintenance on) medication-assisted …
It should come as no surprise that rural areas have longer drive times to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) than urban ones.
A research letter published in …
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) is concerned about recent initiatives that would reduce confidentiality for patients with opioid use disorder …
In the long-awaited rulemaking amending 42 CFR Part 2, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said August 22 it will now allow …
When a patient with an opioid use disorder (OUD) fails to respond to treatment—despite the best efforts of counselors in the substance use disorder (SUD) …
In a report published in the July issue of Health Affairs, addiction specialist Jessica L. Gregg, MD, told the poignant story of a patient she …
For months, the position of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) on the move to deregulate the prescribing of buprenorphine for opioid use disorder …
A report out from the American Medical Association (AMA) this summer recommends closing the treatment gap to address the opioid epidemic. Buprenorphine was the main …
A new program in New York has finally made it possible for methadone patients in the KEEP program at the New York City Rikers jail—the …
Many people have questions about the role of counseling in methadone maintenance treatment, sometimes suggesting that nothing is needed but the medication itself. The Substance …
Two people died after a shooting at the highly respected Man Alive opioid treatment program (OTP) in Baltimore on July 15—the shooter, and one other …
We have lost our publisher, Sue Emerson. It happened on April 18, following a short illness. Just a year or so earlier we’d celebrated an …
A new review paper by Carlos Blanco, MD, PhD, and Nora Volkow, MD, nicely summarizes current and future management of opioid use disorder (OUD)—as one …
Study: Medicaid Expansion Under ACA Can Increase Access to OAT—But Better Access May Be Within Reach
When Medicaid expansion was enacted under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), expectations were that patients with opioid use disorders (OUDs) in specialty substance use settings …
Despite years of attempting to do away with the regulation that protects the confidentiality of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records—with almost all treatment organizations …
The key to keeping methadone and opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in the sights of appropriators is the phrase “all three medications” when referring to “MAT” …
Does for-profit status connote anything at all about the quality of treatment, about how well patients are cared for, about the responsibility of the program …
Almost 90% of Medicare Part D insurance companies covered at least one buprenorphine product without restriction back in 2007—but in 2018, only 35% did so.
Yet …
The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act—the massive piece of legislation signed into law on October 24, 2018—is not going to take care of the …
There are moves—important and funded ones—to support the expansion of medication-assisted treatment (MAT), but those moves apply mostly to office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) providers, not …
One of the most important initiatives occurring in methadone treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs) is taking place in prisons and jails. In many states, …
As authorities start recognizing the need to treat opioid-dependent detainees in jails and prisons, rather than let them detox cold turkey, the importance of opioid …
The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have started preparations for setting a …
With opioid overdoses now killing more people than traffic accidents or HIV infection—more than 45,000 lives were lost to overdoses in 2017—you’d think that most …
There have been significant changes at Acadia Healthcare Company, which operates many opioid treatment programs (OTPs) among its 600 facilities. Last December, amid reports that …
Not only is cannabis—marijuana—legalized for recreational use in many states; it’s also legal for medical use in even more states, and some states are even …
The world of addiction has a deeply embedded image of the oft-cited elephant in the room: substance use disorder in a family member, a fellow …
Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres (CATC), based in Toronto, has over 14,000 patients, 80% of whom are taking methadone. Unlike in the United States, patients in …
James Thomas Payte, MD, died January 22 at the age of 87. A pioneer in the treatment of opioid use disorder with methadone, Dr. Payte …
Yale researchers have uncovered startling data about the number of children and adolescents (younger than age 20) dying from opioid poisoning.
The general belief—until the Yale …
In 2017, Gail Groves Scott, MPH, manager of the Substance Use Disorders Institute at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, wrote a passionate piece …
Can opioid treatment programs (OTPs) help pain patients who no longer need opioids for pain? Absolutely, says Elinore F. McCance-Katz, MD, PhD, assistant secretary for …
Perhaps the best example of what can happen to loss of confidentiality is the story of the Boston Medical Center nurse, who, doing exactly what …
In opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in the United States, all pharmacy is “in-house,” meaning that patients are dispensed medication by nurses in the facility. There …
2018
Loretta Finnegan, MD, a champion of medication-assisted treatment with methadone, developed her scoring system for newborns more than 40 years ago. The Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence …
Although the general attitude toward methadone and buprenorphine is not favorable on the part of many workers in correctional facilities, the trend is changing. This …
Case Report
This is the story of a young woman with a 15-year history of severe opioid use disorder (OUD), intermittent hospitalization, and incarceration, who becomes …
More than two years ago, just before Donald Trump was elected president, Demetra Ashley, associate deputy assistant administrator of the office of diversion control with …
In a far-reaching policy paper to be published next year, a draft copy of which was obtained by AT Forum, the American Association for the …
The 660-page opioid bill that passed Congress and was signed October 24 by President Trump has important provisions for opioid treatment programs (OTPs). The most …
42 CFR Part 2 protects the privacy of patient substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records. It’s been under siege for 10 years, but so far, …
Health care teams are brought up short when they see the words opioid use disorder on the chart, and the patient is scheduled for surgery. …
Healthy Women, a group that has been active for 30 years, is expanding its work around policy and advocacy, and recently released a toolkit for …
I spent hours visiting with Robert Newman, MD, beloved methadone advocate, over the past 30 years. He gave me my first tour of a large …
As the opioid crisis continues, opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are going to face big challenges in the workforce, experts say. “We’re going to face a …
This summer, Bay Area Addiction Research and Treatment (BAART) sued the city of Concord, California after a three-year effort to site its methadone clinic there. …
Under federal law, newly enrolled methadone patients must attend a methadone program six days a week, so caregivers can watch as patients are dosed.
But here’s …
California technically doesn’t have waiting lists for opioid treatment programs (OTPs). When a program is full, the operator can ask the state for an increase …
“Nurse anesthetists can give any drug in the [operating room]; they put you under; and they’re very trained in pain management”… that would seem an …
As the Senate gets ready to vote on opioid legislation, advocates urge people to contact their members of Congress to call for comprehensive coverage by …
When the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6082 last June methadone patients worried that they would lose their confidentiality. The bill would remove a …
To use its more than $50 million in funding from the State Targeted Response (STR) to the Opioid Crisis, New York State first identified its …
The incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) has been climbing steadily, according to a 2016 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease …
Appalachia is an area long known for beautiful scenery, coal mining, and devastating poverty. And now the area around central Appalachia has become the epicenter …
It’s a lovely state, nestled in the tree-covered Appalachian mountains—but West Virginia, the state hardest hit by the opioid crisis, faces serious problems. According to …
By Alison Knopf
“I don’t think there’s a single legislator who isn’t interested” in passing opioid bills, Mary Bono, former Republican Congresswoman from California, told AT …
“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is considering whether a pregnant woman’s use of illegal drugs qualifies as child abuse under state law. In May, the Drug …
Much has been written about the impact of Medicaid expansion on the opioid crisis and access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT). A group associated with amfAR, …
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) must submit a plethora of information on their services to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Office-based outpatient …
Plenty of opioid treatment program executives are leaders in the field, but their names don’t get out nearly enough. This article is meant to change …
Ann Jamieson, MS, aged 46, is the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Professional Development for Maric Healthcare, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company operating OTPs across …
Jason Kletter, PhD, aged 47, is the President of BayMark Health Services, where he has worked for 25 years in operational, management, and executive roles. …
Robert C. Lambert, MA, aged 54, president and executive director of Connecticut Counseling Centers, Inc., began as an entry level counselor in the center’s Methadone …
Christine Martin, LMFT, CACII, aged 35, is director of clinical services for Center for Behavioral Health, North Charleston, South Carolina. She started working as an …
Stacey Pearce, aged 43, Chief Compliance Officer at Alliance Recovery Centers, in Georgia, started working in an OTP in 1995 as a part-time receptionist. “It …
Allegra Schorr, aged 56, is president of the Coalition of Medication-Assisted Treatment Providers and Advocates (COMPA). Ms. Schorr has over 25 years of experience in …
Nick Stavros, age 39, CEO of Community Medical Services, presided over the recent sale of the OTP platform to the private equity firm, Clearview Capital. …
Zachary C. Talbott (“Zac”), aged 35, a native of Tennessee, is administrator and program director of Counseling Solutions Treatment Centers, based in Georgia. When he …
Nonprescription sales of syringes in pharmacies are being met with some enthusiasm, some resistance, and a tinge of stigma. But they offer an accessible, affordable, …
Patients in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This means that an employer can’t refuse to hire them …
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed HB 21 in March, providing more than $65 million to support opioid treatment. This included $16.5 million for medication-assisted treatment …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
It’s long been known that medication-assisted treatment (MAT), with adequate doses of methadone or buprenorphine, can stabilize women during pregnancy and prevent relapse. But a …
When Loretta Finnegan, MD, a champion of medication-assisted treatment with methadone, developed her famous scoring system for newborns—more than 40 years ago—mother and infant dyad …
“Could a new website serve as a way to bring attention to the opioid crisis?
The White House thinks so, as it recently launched a new website called …
“Guest dose unto others as you would have others guest dose unto you.”
I think all opioid treatment program physicians should follow this twist on the …
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced yesterday that, over the next 45 days, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will surge Special Agents, Diversion Investigators, and Intelligence …
The annual board meeting last December of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) was more than just a meeting. Eight board …
California has embraced the hub-and-spoke concept in implementing its State Targeted Response (STR) to the Opioid Crisis funding from the 21st Century Cures Act. The …
The hubs—OTPs—treat patients who have been assessed as needing the OTP level of care. These patients are given methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone. Patients in the …
Boston is not the only city with a powerful push by academics and providers for medication-assisted treatment (MAT), but it’s definitely one with a high …
Here’s an eye-catching statistic: only about 3% of the world’s population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV)—but the infection rate in methadone users is …
People who get incarcerated—in prisons or jails—tend to be people with more advanced addiction. If they have opioid use disorders, they typically spend their term …
Results of Seven Merged National Polls, 2016 and 2017, New England Journal of Medicine – February 1, 2018
How serious is the opioid crisis? Data from …
2017
For a quarter-century AT Forum has served as a source of support and encouragement for the opioid addiction community, as well as an advocate of …
In one respect, opioid treatment programs (OTPs) have an advantage over most areas of health care, when it comes to uncertainty about insurance in the …
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that the funding formula for the $1 billion Opioid State Targeted Response (STR) grant allocation …
Arizona is using some of its Opioid STR (State Targeted Response) money, granted under the 21st Century Cures Act, to expand access to Opioid Treatment …
They’ve been called a “growing and understudied population”—people who need treatment, yet find it hard to obtain or to pay for. So, many do without …
Senior citizens are not immune from opioid use disorders (OUDs), but Medicare does not cover treatment in an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP). The American Association …
The practice of ending treatment if patients test positive for benzodiazepines was discouraged in no uncertain terms by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last …
On November 1, the White House released the long-awaited final report on the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. The report …
An article in our August-September newsletter on the rise in adolescent opioid-related deaths included recommendations from several government and medical sources—virtually all of them suggesting …
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has launched two online screening tools—BSTAD and S2BI—to assess the risk of substance use disorder in adolescents aged …
Last fall, West Virginia got its Medicaid 1115 waiver approved, allowing, among other things, Medicaid to pay for treatment in opioid treatment programs (OTPs). The …
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) has released recommendations on siting opioid treatment programs (OTPs). The guidelines are meant to encourage …
Citing the harms of untreated opioid use disorders, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that benzodiazepine use should not preclude the use of …
Many health professionals have suspected it for a while, and now it’s official: a study published in October in Health Affairs, and written up by …
This was a study of specialty treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs) in publicly funded programs in the U.S. Investigators at Johns Hopkins who turned …
In September of last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy statement calling for making drug therapy available to adolescents with opioid …
This update from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports trends in the use of methadone, buprenorphine, and extended-release, injectable naltrexone—an option …
Longtime methadone and opioid treatment program (OTP) advocate and professional Edward J. Higgins died peacefully at home in Toms River, New Jersey on October 8.
Mr. …
Of the $1 billion in federal grants going out to states in 2017 and 2018 to respond to the opioid epidemic, 80% must go to …
It has become clear that many people with opioid use disorders (OUDs) end up in jails and prisons. Immediately cut off from their source, they …
Prescription opioids are still getting much of the blame for the current opioid overdose crisis, yet heroin and synthetic opioids—fentanyl, carfentanil, and tramadol—have become the …
Imagine opioid treatment program (OTP) patients being able to get counseling and prescriptions from their own smartphone, while sitting in the comfort of their home. …
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) still use methadone as their main medication, especially in states where there is no reimbursement for the far more costly buprenorphine. …
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is not yet ready to talk about mobile vans. The agency is likely to release new licensing regulations, which will …
At its July 17 “America Honors Recovery” gala, Faces & Voices of Recovery awarded Mary Jeanne Kreek, MD, and Mark Parrino, MPA, two top honors. …
“Contrary to recent news reporting, there are no fentanyl analogues resistant to Naloxone. News reports indicated a “new” fentanyl analogue, acrylfentanyl, was “extremely powerful” and …
“This brief gives policymakers and the public perspective on the scope of potential Medicaid spending increases needed to address the opioid crisis. Between 2011 and …
For the first time in the history of opioid treatment programs (OTPs)–federally regulated clinics that dispense methadone and other medications to treat opioid use disorders—there …
President Trump, along with Republican members of Congress, is calling for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—which many believe jeopardizes treatment coverage. And …
President Trump promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and although it took some negotiating, he got what he wanted from the House of …
On April 19, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the first round of funding for the two-year State Targeted Response (STR) …
Evidence is growing that two key factors help determine the risks of death in patients being treated for opioid dependence: which medication the patients are—or …
Results of a Poll Released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) -May 1, 2017
To get some perspective on this story, let’s picture a teenager who …
Single state authorities (SSAs) are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. They’re in charge of overseeing the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) …
Not in my back yard (NIMBY)—that’s how to best describe the feeling in local neighborhoods where residents say they support treatment for substance use disorders, …
The five-year plan of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) has a goal of increasing access to care in opioid treatment …
Benzodiazepines help patients cope with severe anxiety, panic disorder, or sleep problems; prescription opioids can help relieve severe pain. When prescribed appropriately and with sufficient …
The Cures Act, signed in December 2016 by President Obama, gave $920 million over a two-year period to states to devote to opioid use disorder …
The Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ) has been hard at work determining where in each state opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are needed, …
The Virginia Board of Medicine, backed by the state, has banned the use of buprenorphine with the exception of treating pregnant patients in both office …
How different are women from men, when it comes to using—and misusing—opioids?
More different than you might think, it turns out, according to CDC Vital Signs, …
A bill winding its way through the Tennessee legislature would make opioid treatment programs (OTPs) liable for any injury or death caused by a patient …
Yes, there are regulations in preparation to address the use of mobile vans to dispense medication-assisted treatment. When connected to brick-and-mortar opioid treatment programs (OTPs), …
On April 6, the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) released its long-awaited report, Guidelines for Addressing Benzodiazepine Use in Opioid Treatment …
The final rule on 42 CFR Part 2, issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in January, essentially keeps the confidential …
Over the next three years, the number of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in the country will double, from 1,400 to 2,800, pledges Mark Parrino, MPA, …
In December, the 21st Century Cures Act was signed by President Obama, providing $1 billion over two years to address opioid addiction. The law also …
A new toolkit from the Legal Action Center can help patients, especially those taking methadone, understand their rights when they are told that they must …
A recent study compared opioid agonist treatment (OAT) and detoxification in patients with opioid use disorders. The goal was to see which treatment approach is …
Treatment, not jail time—that’s what most people who misuse opioids should be offered, say Virginia voters. More than 6 out of 10 Virginians recently polled …
There’s a movement afoot to banish short, snappy, offensive terms like “addict,” “drug users” and “abuse,” and replace them with terms unlikely to perpetuate stigma.
And …
2016
“A study published Monday in the journal Health Affairs found significant disparities in Medicaid coverage for addiction treatment among the states.
“Researchers sought to determine the …
“Although there was a significant increase in the use of syringe services programs (SSPs)—more commonly known as needle exchange programs—across the United States over the …
How will the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, with far-ranging changes in administration officials and policy, affect opioid treatment programs …
Double the number of opioid treatment programs—from 1,400 to 2,800—in the United States over the next three years: that was the main message from Mark …
Mark Parrino, MPA, made no secret of his plan to double the number of opioid treatment programs (OTPs) within three years, from 1,400 to 2,800. …
A centerpiece of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) is the award banquet, honoring leaders for their work in the field.
It …
Produced by the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) under a contract with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, three …
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders (AATOD) this year issued three landmark white papers on improving access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) …
The second white paper issued this year by the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) focused on coordination of care. Essential steps …
The American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) issued three white papers this year that focus on methadone and buprenorphine treatment for opioid …
The U.S. Surgeon General’s report on alcohol and drugs—the first ever devoted to this topic—should be a reference document for every opioid treatment program (OTP) …
An innovative hospital, one of the largest in New York City, has successfully integrated buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) into its established opioid treatment program (OTP), …
In Vermont’s opioid treatment system, devised ingeniously by Gov. Peter Shumlin with Affordable Care Act funding more than five years ago, opioid treatment programs (OTPs) …
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) across the country have been engaged in battles to locate, in the case of new facilities, and to expand, in the …
Jocelyn Woods, MA, executive director of the National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery (NAMA-R), has a lot to say about NIMBY-ism. As the lead advocate …
A comprehensive review article in Obstetrics and Gynecology summarizes troubling data on the epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy, and the subsequent sharp …
People with opioid use disorders are a small percentage of Medicaid enrollees, but they represent a significant percentage of costs in terms of emergency department …
In this day of medical marijuana in some states, and recreational marijuana as well, what is a treatment program to do when it comes to …
Georgia’s 67 opioid treatment programs (OTPs) aren’t enough to treat everyone in the state who needs it, but some of the need appears to be …
Finding and keeping good counselors in an opioid treatment program (OTP) isn’t easy, no matter what state you’re in. Salaries need to keep pace with …
Why don’t more patients go to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) earlier in their disease?
For several reasons. First, the guidelines of the Substance Abuse and Mental …
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) regulates opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and promulgates 42 CFR Part 2, the confidentiality rule protecting patient …
On July 14 Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), along with Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Angus King (I-ME), introduced the Prescription Drug Monitoring Act, to require …
Whitepaper: “Models of Integrated Patient Care through OTPs and DATA 2000 Practices” available for download at: http://atforum.com/2016/07/aatod-issues-first-whitepapers-otp-patient-quality-care-continuity-services/
Source: American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Addiction …
“The first section is written by Dr. Kenneth Stoller and Dr. Mary Ann Stephens in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the John …
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) …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
A key goal in addiction treatment is to reduce the criminal activity associated with substance use disorders. Several studies have shown that a reduction does …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
When Stewart B. Leavitt, PhD, died in February at age 70, the methadone maintenance field lost an important advocate. The founding editor when AT Forum …
States that have Medicaid funding for methadone treatment are far more likely than states without such funding to have Medicaid-enrolled patients in treatment programs, researchers …
The two-day meeting of the board of directors of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), which took place in December in …
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs), like other health care providers, are not required to provide patient care without charge. If a patient can’t pay, and has …
Publisher’s Note: Despite the current buzz about the expansion of opioid-agonist treatment, stigma continues to prevail. This is the first in a series of four …
In two editorials published soon after he was appointed senior editor of the Journal of Addiction Medicine, Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM, briefly discussed …
On December 1, Psychiatric Services in Advance, an online service of the American Psychiatric Association, published “Criminal Activity or Treatable Health Condition? News Media Framing …
The best way to fight stigma against opioid treatment programs (OTPs) is to bring the programs themselves out in the open—and that’s finally starting to …
The growth of the patient advocate movement in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) is a benefit for patients and for management. Patient advocates will be the …
2015
The ongoing efforts to reduce prescribing of opioids should have an effect on opioid treatment programs (OTPs), because some of the patients who are being …
During the past year, key government agencies, medical associations, policy makers, the media, and families have finally realized that we’re in the midst of the …
There’s a question on the minds of everyone who is involved with opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and reads the headlines: If we’re in such a …
Five patients at the opioid treatment program (OTP) where Jana Burson, MD, serves as medical director have rescued people—not patients—with naloxone they obtained from her …
In the August/September issue of the Addiction Treatment Forum newsletter we discussed a review article, “Long-Term Course of Opioid Addiction,” published in the Harvard Review …
Beny Primm, MD, a leader in the treatment of opioid addiction and AIDS, died October 16 at the age of 87 after a long battle …
“I know why addicts inject buprenorphine (Subutex): they think it saves them money. Over the long run, however, I doubt that’s true, given the hidden …
On September 24 the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), with the support of top federal health officials, released a mobile application and pocket guide …
Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance—all three programs are putting up barriers to reimbursement for treatment in an opioid treatment program (OTP), but the situation is …
A massive change in the way California Medicaid pays opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and other programs for services related to substance use disorder (SUD) was …
Cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)—a group of withdrawal symptoms that sometimes afflict newborns—increased about threefold between 2000 and 2009, reflecting a fivefold rise in …
AT Forum: Your protocol for pregnant patients at the Bi-Valley clinic calls for giving split methadone take-home doses. How do you manage the safety issues …
Despite widespread news coverage, extensive research, and effective treatments, opioid addiction is reaching new heights—not only in the U.S., but in many parts of the …
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) can do “all the heavy lifting” when it comes to counseling and wraparound services for patients with opioid use disorders (OUDs), …
Twenty years ago, AT Forum published an interview with Vincent P. Dole, MD, about his vision for methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). The interview was full …
In late July the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced which 11 states were the winners of about $1 million each in …
If your patient tests positive for illicit drugs while in treatment at your opioid treatment program (OTP), you need to take steps—and document those steps—to …
In May, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) issued a practice guideline on medications for treating opioid use disorders. Meant to guide clinicians in …
In April of 2014, Richard D. Lewis posted “Opiates and benzos: A deadly cocktail of drugs” on southcoasttoday.com. South Coast is the southern coastal region …
Interferon, a traditional medication sometimes used in combination with ribavirin or other medications to treat hepatitis C infections, has unpleasant side effects, including nausea, fatigue, …
Dose-capping—limiting the amount of methadone a patient can take on a daily basis—was ruled “contrary to the current state of the medical literature and the …
Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are finally able to bill Medicaid for buprenorphine treatment in New York, Allegra Schorr, president of the Coalition of Medication-Assisted Treatment …
What can patients in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) expect when seeking screening, v testing, and medication for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection?
Their former or current …
On April 6, just after the national meeting of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD), the federal government issued a proposed …
The heroin and prescription-opioid epidemic are intersecting with the Affordable Care Act and parity, creating new access to treatment. This is an exciting time for …
Special Feature ATForum article.
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The final revised guidelines for opioid treatment programs (OTPs) were released March 31 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Timed to …
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released its budget request for fiscal year 2016, with some good news for opioid treatment …
Electronic health records (EHRs) are needed when opioid treatment programs (OTPs) work in coordination with other health care providers─which isn’t very often. But that’s starting …
The outlook for patients in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) who need affordable treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has improved markedly since we reported …
A landmark lawsuit aimed at getting Kentucky drug courts to accept medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders was filed March 9 by Lexington-based attorney …
The Legal Action Center released a report in March focusing on medication-assisted treatment (MAT). The report stressed that MAT is a key solution to the …
When Acadia Healthcare announced that it planned to acquire CRC Health Group last year, CRC CEO Jerry Rhodes continues championing opioid treatment programs (OTPs). At …
“Two law firms have teamed up to file a federal lawsuit against the state of Kentucky for its practice of forbidding opiate addicts from receiving …