12/20/2023 0 Comments House framer spokane indeed![]() Yet, there are very little data describing the effects of take-home policies on patients’ lives, including their experiences with treatment. Moreover, there is a strong feeling among members of such organizations, that people who are not on MMT themselves, or directly connected with someone who is, simply do not understand how disruptive and counter-productive such policies are to the lives of patients. Drug user rights groups, such as the Urban Survivors Union, have also argued that the lack of access to take-home doses is unethical and cruel, and that it is only because of the powerful stigma against people who use opioids that such policies are considered acceptable. Research suggests that clinic policies that provide limited access to take-home doses, and the corresponding need for patients to attend their clinic on a daily or near-daily basis, is a primary driver of patient dissatisfaction. Yet it is unpopular among many people who use illegal opioids and its effectiveness has been hindered by consistently low rates of uptake and retention that prevent it from meeting its potential as a harm reduction and public health intervention. Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is widely recognized as one of the most effective ways of reducing risk of overdose, arrest, and transmission of blood-borne viruses like HIV and HCV among people that use opioids. Revision of MMT regulations and policies regarding take home doses are essential to improve patient satisfaction and the quality and effectiveness of MMT as a key evidence-based treatment and harm reduction strategy. Take-home dose policies in MMT are not working for a substantial number of patients and are reasonably seen by participants as degrading and dehumanizing. Responses also demonstrate how such policies contribute to an environment of cruelty and stigma within many clinics that exposes this already-stigmatized population to additional trauma. Participants described how the use of restrictive take-home dose policies negatively impacted their ability to meet day-to-day responsibilities and also cited the need for daily attendance as a reason for quitting or avoiding OAT. ![]() Nearly all of the patients with past or present MMT use were highly critical of the limited access to take-home doses and consequent need for daily or near daily clinic attendance. Interviews explored: reasons for engaging with, or not engaging with MMT how MMT is conceptualized by patients and treatment providers (e.g., as harm reduction or route to abstinence and/or recovery) experiences with MMT perception of barriers to MMT (e.g., organizational/regulatory, social) and how MMT might be improved to support peoples’ substance use treatment needs and goals. ![]() ![]() This article is based on semi-structured, qualitative interviews with a variety of stakeholders in MMT. In response, this article examines how clinics’ take-home dosing policies have affected patients’ experiences of treatment and lives in general. ![]() Yet, MMT’s use of restrictive take-home dose policies that force most patients to attend their clinic on a daily, or near-daily, basis may be unpopular with many patients and lead to low rates of treatment uptake and retention. ![]()
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