ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2021
Treatment provider perceptions of take-home methadone regulation before and during COVID-19.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Examining inequities in access to opioid agonist treatment (OAT) take-home doses (THD): A Canadian OAT guideline synthesis and systematic review.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Pooled it
- 'It wasn't to get high; it was just to get by': experiences of patients who use fentanyl during methadone treatment and opportunities for improving care in Vermont and New Hampshire.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- De-implementation of inequitable methadone policy and treatment: lessons learned from COVID-19 to support a more just methadone treatment system in the United States.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Developing and validating measures of take-home methadone with administrative data.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Article
- Community coalitions' navigation of policies to address the opioid epidemic: insights from qualitative interviews in four states.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Methadone treatment utilization and overdose trends among Medicaid beneficiaries in New Jersey before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- Facilitating factors and barriers for use of medications to treat opioid use disorder (MOUD) among justice-involved individuals in rural Appalachia.Journal of community psychology · 2024Article
- U.S. Healthcare Workers' Perspective of Outpatient Provision of Methadone: A Scoping Review.Substance use & addiction journal · 2024Article
- Methadone dosing at New York State opioid treatment programs following initial revisions to federal regulations.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- Insufficient Impact: Limited Implementation of Federal Regulatory Changes to Methadone and Buprenorphine Access in Arizona During COVID-19.AJPM focus · 2024Article
- The Psychiatrist's Role in Treating Perinatal Opioid Use Disorder and Reducing Maternal Mortality.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2024Review
- What can we learn from COVID-19 to improve opioid treatment? Expert providers respond.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2023Article
- Flexible delivery of opioid agonist treatment during COVID-19 in Norway: qualitative and quantitative findings from an online survey of provider experiences.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Changes to methadone maintenance therapy in the United States, Canada, and Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2023Review
- Clients' experiences on North America's first take-home injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT) program: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- "Sign Me Up": a qualitative study of video observed therapy (VOT) for patients receiving expedited methadone take-homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2023Article
- Patient experiences of methadone treatment changes during the first wave of COVID-19: a national community-driven survey.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Synthesising evidence of the effects of COVID-19 regulatory changes on methadone treatment for opioid use disorder: implications for policy.The Lancet. Public health · 2023Review
- Patient experiences of COVID-19-induced changes to methadone treatment in a large community-based opioid treatment program in Baltimore.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe loosening of U.S. methadone regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic expanded calls for methadone reform. This study examines professional perceptions of methadone take-home dose regulation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand responses to varied methadone distribution policies.
methodsFifty-nine substance use disorder treatment professionals were interviewed between 2017 and 2020 in-person or over video call. An inductive iterative coding process was used to analyze the data. Constructivist grounded theory guided the collection and analysis of in-depth interviews.
resultsTreatment professionals expressed mixed views toward methadone take-home regulations. Participants justified regulation using several arguments: 1) patient care benefitting from supervision, 2) attributing improved patient safety to take-home regulation, 3) fearing liability for methadone-related harms, and 4) relying on buprenorphine as an "escape hatch" for patients who cannot manage MMT policies. Other professionals suggested partial deregulation, while others strongly opposed pre-pandemic take-home regulation, explaining such regulations impede medication access and hinder patient-centered care. Some professionals supported the COVID-19 policy changes and saw these as a test run for broader deregulation, while others framed the changes as temporary and cautiously applied deregulation to their services, at times revoking looser rules for patients they perceived as nonadherent.
conclusionTreatment professionals working in a range of modalities, including opioid treatment programs, expressed hesitation toward expanded take-home methadone access. While some participants also supported forms of deregulation, post-pandemic efforts to extend looser methadone distribution policies will have to address apprehensive professionals if such policy changes are to be meaningfully adopted in community services.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.