ArticleJournal of hospital medicine2024
Unintended consequences of methadone regulation for opioid use disorder treatment among hospitalized patients.
Article in Journal of hospital medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Leveraging the 72-Hour Rule Change to Support Transition From Hospital to Opioid Treatment Program.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Estimated Hospital Cost Reduction Following Implementation of Hospital-dispensed Discharge Methadone.Journal of addiction medicine · 2025Article
- Evaluating remyelination compounds for new applications in opioid use disorder management.Journal of addictive diseasesArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn the United States, there are no federal restrictions on the use of methadone to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms when patients are hospitalized with a medical or surgical condition other than addiction. In contrast, in an outpatient setting, methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD) is highly regulated by federal and state governments and can only be dispensed from an opioid treatment program (OTP). Discrepancies in regulatory requirements across these settings may lead to barriers in care for patients with OUD.
objectiveIdentify how methadone regulation impacts the care of patients with OUD during hospitalization, care transitions, and in the OTP setting.
methodsWe completed 26 interviews with clinicians and social workers working on hospital-based addiction consultation services across the United States. Study findings are the result of a secondary content analysis of interviews to identifying the word "methadone" and construct themes resulting from the data.
resultsWe identified three major themes related to "methadone" for OUD treatment, all of which impacted patient care: (1) limited OTP hours leads to tenuous or delayed hospital discharges; (2) inadequate information-sharing between hospitals and OTPs leads to delays in care; and (3) methadone regulations create treatment barriers for the most vulnerable patients.
conclusionStrict methadone regulations have resulted in unintended consequences for patients with OUD in the hospital setting, during care transitions, and in the OTP setting. Recent and ongoing federal efforts to reform methadone provision may improve some of the reported challenges, but significant hurdles remain in providing safe, equitable care to hospitalized patients with OUD.
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Registered trials
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