Medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence & barriers to implementation.

This presentation begins with an overview of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) and its mission to “bridge the gap between research and practice, ” as well as the Ohio Valley Node of the CTN, which includes 23 community treatment programs in 15 states. From there, the presentation describes the current state of the problem of opioid dependence in the United States, with profiles of the various pharmacotherapies found effective in treating it. Outcomes from CTN protocol 0030, the Prescription Opioid Addiction Treatment Study (POATS), are described, and current and coming research is outlined.

The presentation ends with a look at barriers to implementing medication-assisted treatment, including environmental (regulatory, e.g.), organizational (staffing, cost, participation in the CTN and other research, e.g.), clinician/patient (education, health insurance, e.g.), and philosophical (drug addiction should not be treated with drugs, e.g.) issues. Suggestions on ways to address those barriers, including the use of Blending Team Products about buprenorphine, are offered.

Related protocols: CTN-0030