1. Methadone Take-Home Policies and Associated Mortality: Permitting versus Non-Permitting States.
- Author
-
Harris, Rebecca Arden
- Subjects
DRUG overdose ,HOME care services ,POLICY sciences ,SUBSTANCE abuse ,STATISTICAL correlation ,METHADONE hydrochloride ,RESEARCH funding ,HEALTH policy ,MEDICAL care ,SELF medication ,TIME series analysis ,TREATMENT effectiveness ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,RESEARCH ,DISEASE complications ,COMPARATIVE studies ,CONFIDENCE intervals ,COVID-19 pandemic ,COVID-19 - Abstract
To mitigate COVID-19 exposure risks in methadone clinics, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a temporary modification of regulations in March 2020 to permit, with state concurrence, extended take-home methadone doses. The modification allowed for up to 28 days of take-home methadone for stable patients and 14 days for those less stable. Using both interrupted time series and difference-in-differences methods, this study examined the association between the policy change and fatal methadone overdoses, comparing states that permitted the expansion of take-home doses with states that did not. The findings suggest the pandemic emergency take-home policy did not increase methadone-involved mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF