Methadone « Mind • Body • Spirit

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) During Pregnancy – Part II

This is the second of two articles on treating pregnant patients in MAT, clinical considerations related to their care, and outcomes for their babies.

Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are caring for increasing numbers of pregnant patients-some who become pregnant while in methadone treatment programs, others who decide to begin methadone treatment [...]

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) During Pregnancy – Part I

This is the first in a series of articles on treating pregnant patients in MAT, clinical considerations related to their care, and outcomes for their babies.

Check back in the coming days for part two, or follow us on Twitter @MeridianNetwork to get a live feed from our blog.

Holly is a 35-year-old tenth-grade dropout who [...]

Study Shows Evidence To Support Methadone Maintenance Therapy Decreasing Arrests

A link to the entire study is provided below. Here is the abstract from the original study:

AIMS: This study examines the frequency and severity of arrest charges among heroin addicts randomly assigned to either interim methadone (IM) maintenance or to remain on a waiting list for methadone treatment. It was hypothesized that IM participants would [...]

In My Backyard: Dispelling Myths About Methadone

The International center for Advancement of Addiction Treatment (ICAAT) has produced a 15-minute video addressing the “not-in-my-backyard” (NIMBY) phenomenon – probably the greatest barrier to meaningful expansion of methadone treatment availability in America. Throughout the USA, and in many other nations as well, efforts to open new facilities are met with fierce opposition based on [...]

Mother’s Drug Use Tied to Child-Abuse Risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Young children whose mothers abuse drugs may face a higher risk of abuse and placement in foster care, a new study finds.

Australian researchers found that infants whose mothers abused amphetamines or opiates such as heroin were 13 times more likely to become victims of neglect or abuse than other children [...]

Treatment of Hepatitis C within a Methadone Maintenance Program Yields Results Comparable to Treatment via Other Models of Care

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects more than 4 million people in the US, 60% of whom have a history of injection drug use (IDU). Concerns over treatment adherence, psychiatric comorbidity, ongoing drug use, and optimal timing of HCV treatment initiation have resulted in unwillingness on the part of many physicians to treat HCV in patients [...]

Methadone Mortality Update

Report Findings, Proposed Legislation, & Planned Education Initiatives

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of methadone-associated overdose deaths increased more than fivefold—from 786 to 4,462—between 1999 and 2005.

A key report, “Methadone-Associated Overdose Deaths: Factors Contributing to Increased Deaths and Efforts to Prevent Them,” prepared by the U.S. Government Accountability [...]

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