Someone sent this document today and highlighted this statement, "The evidence of the effectiveness of MAT is overwhelmingly positive. 115, 116, 117" That statement provides 3 sources: 115 Addiction Treatment Forum. MAT with Methadone or Burprenorphine: Assessing the Evidence for Effectiveness. February 10, 2014. http://atforum.com/2014/02/mat-with-methadone-orbuprenorphine-assessing-the-evidence-for-effectiveness/. Accessed October 31, 2016. 116 Fullerton CA, Kim M, Thomas CP, … Continue reading A closer look at the evidence

  Recovery Science shared a couple of qualitative studies on the experiences of MAT patients. The first identified 7 themes: Patients may not be aware of treatment alternatives Treatment expectations and goals may differ between clinicians and patients Prior experiences with buprenorphine or methadone influence treatment decisions and expectations Accountability and structure facilitate treatment engagement … Continue reading How do we know if we do not ask?

From the American Journal of Public Health: Approximately 1 in 12 US physicians received a payment involving an opioid during the 29-month study. These findings should prompt an examination of industry influences on opioid prescribing. That's not 1 in 12 pain specialists, or 1 in 12 addiction medicine specialists, that's 1 in 12 US physicians. … Continue reading 1 in 12 US physicians received a payment involving an opioid

While opioids get all the attention (justifiably, due to the death rates), Marc Schuckit discusses findings from a recently published study of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders (AUD): The results documented substantial increases in the prevalence of past 12-month drinking, high-risk drinking, and AUDs. The largest increase related to the rate of the most … Continue reading Meanwhile . . .

. . . the clinicians of the future, really need to be oriented in a counselor mode, where they are not just telling you what the options are, but also eliciting from you very clearly what your goals are, and then making a recommendation about what most matches your goals. What are your priorities for your quality of life … Continue reading Sentences to Ponder

. . . in the end, the federal government has very little control over criminal justice. About 90 percent of all prisoners—and a far greater percentage of those in jails, on probation, or who are arrested every year—are handled by states and counties, not by the federal government. And the federal government cannot directly tell … Continue reading Sentences to ponder

I usually bristle at attempts to correct and manage other people's well-meaning speech. However, this headline from the Washington Post grabbed me. It doesn’t take a warrior to beat cancer. It takes a treatment that works. How true this is for addiction, too. There is a treatment that delivers long term abstinence rates north of … Continue reading It takes a treatment that works.

There has been a lot of discussion about the use of buprenorphine to treat addiction and prevent overdose. I've pointed out that weak retention rates weaken this rationale. One common response is that the treatment system and recovering community reinforce stigma associated with maintenance medications and undermine outcomes, including retention. This makes retention findings from other … Continue reading Another buprenorphine retention finding

Blue Cross Blue Shield issued a report on the opioid crisis with their data from all members in their commercial plans. Early in the document, they report a pair of striking numbers. First, that 21% of members filled a prescription for an opioid in 2015. I've heard these kinds of numbers before, but I never … Continue reading Blue Cross Blue Shield Publishes Major Opioid Report