ReviewJournal of substance use and addiction treatment2023
Changes to methadone maintenance therapy in the United States, Canada, and Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative review.
Review in Journal of substance use and addiction treatment, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Barriers and facilitators to scaling up medications for opioid use disorder in Kentucky: qualitative perspectives of treatment organization staff.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2025Trial
- Trends in Opioid Agonist Treatment for Opioid Dependence During Pregnancy: A Population-Based Study in New South Wales 2005-2021.Drug and alcohol review · 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
- Implementation challenges and opportunities in decentralized methadone service delivery.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Comparative effectiveness of urine drug testing schedules alongside opioid agonist treatment: Emulation of a population-based target trial in British Columbia, Canada.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
- Impacts of Disruptive Events on Addictive Behavioral Patterns: A Cross-Sectional Study of Methadone Maintenance Therapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Population-Level Health Benefits and Harms Associated With Buprenorphine/Naloxone vs Methadone.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Implementation Challenges and Opportunities in Decentralized Methadone Service Delivery.Research square · 2025Article
- Article
- The hidden costs of 'free' treatment: A cross-sectional study of patient-incurred costs for daily methadone maintenance treatment in Nairobi, Kenya.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Virtual Primary Care for People With Opioid Use Disorder: Scoping Review of Current Strategies, Benefits, and Challenges.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Giving Up the Guidelines: A Qualitative Evaluation of Disrupted Prescribing of Opioid Substitution Therapy in a Rural UK County During and Following the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Managing Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms During the Fentanyl Crisis: A Review.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries across the world made adaptations to policies regulating the provision of methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) to facilitate social distancing for health care providers and people in treatment. Many countries issued guidance about increasing take-home methadone doses after the onset of the pandemic.
methodsIn this review, we compare the regulation of MMT prior to the pandemic in the United States, Canada, and Australia, analyze changes to treatment policy in the context of COVID-19, and review emerging data on treatment outcomes.
resultsThe United States only permits the prescription and disbursement of methadone for MMT treatment at federally designated opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Conversely, Australia and Canada operate on a community pharmacy-based distribution model, where patients can access methadone doses either in participating pharmacies or in some methadone clinics.
conclusionGiven reports of similar treatment outcomes and increased patient satisfaction since the pandemic-related policy changes, some changes including increased receipt of take-home doses should be considered for incorporation into post-pandemic treatment policies and regulations.
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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.