Difficulties associated with outpatient management of drug abusers by general practitioners. A cross-sectional survey of general practitioners with and without methadone patients in Switzerland

BACKGROUND: In Switzerland, general practitioners (GPs) manage most of the patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). METHODS: Using a cross-sectional postal survey of GPs who treat MMT patients and GPs who do not, we studied the difficulties encountered in the out-patient management of drug-addicted patients. We sent a questionnaire to every GP with MMT patients (556) in the French-speaking part of Switzerland (1,757,000 inhabitants). We sent another shorter questionnaire to primary care physicians without MMT patients living in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. RESULTS: The response rate was 63.3%. The highest methadone dose given by GPs to MMT patients averaged 120.4 mg/day. When asked about help they would like to be given, GPs with MMT patients primarily mentioned the importance of receiving adequate fees for the care they provide. Secondly, they mentioned the importance of better training, better knowledge of psychiatric pathologies, and discussion groups on practical cases. GPs without MMT patients refuse to treat these patients mostly for emotional and relational reasons. CONCLUSION: GPs encounter financial, relational and emotional difficulties with MMT patients. They desire better fees for services and better training

Methadone maintenance treatment in the Swiss Canton of Vaud: demographic and clinical data on 1,782 ambulatory patients.

Using data from the Public Health Service, we studied the demographic and clinical characteristics of 1,782 patients enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) during 2001 in the Swiss Canton of Vaud, comparing our findings with the results of a previous study from 1976 to 1986. In 2001, most patients (76.9%) were treated in general practice. Mortality is low in this MMT population (1%/year). While patient age and sex profiles were similar to those found in the earlier study, we did observe a substantial increase in the number of patients and the number of practitioners treating MMT patients, probably reflecting the low-threshold governmental policies and the creation of specialized centers. In conclusion, easier access to MMT enhances the number of patients, but new concerns about the quality of management emerge: benzodiazepine as a concomitant prescription; low rates of screening for hepatitis B, C and HIV, and social and psychiatric preoccupations

Methadone Medical Maintenance in Primary Care: An Implementation Evaluation

BACKGROUND: Methadone is effective treatment for opioid addiction, but regulations restrict its use. Methadone medical maintenance treats stabilized methadone patients in a medical setting, but only experimental programs have been studied. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation of the first methadone medical maintenance program established outside a reseach setting. DESIGN: One-year program evaluation. SETTING: A public hospital and a community opioid treatment program. PARTICIPANTS: Methadone patients with >1 year of clinical stability. Eleven generalist physicians and 4 hospital pharmacists. INTERVENTIONS: Regulatory exemptions were requested. Physicians and pharmacists were trained. Patients were transferred to the medical setting and permitted 1-month supplies of methadone. MEASUREMENTS: Patient eligibility and willingness to enroll, treatment retention, urine toxicology results, change in addiction severity and functional status, medical services provided, patient and physician satisfaction, and physician attitudes toward methadone maintenance. RESULTS: Regulatory exemptions were obtained after a 14-month process, and the program was cited in federal policy as acceptable for widespread implementation. Forty-nine of 684 patients (7.2%) met stability criteria, and 30 enrolled. Twenty-eight were retained for 1 year, and 2 transferred to other programs. Two patients had opioid-positive urine tests and were managed in the medical setting. Previously unmet medical needs were addressed, and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) medical composite score improved over time (P =.02). Patient and physician satisfaction were high, and physician attitudes toward methadone maintenance treatment became more positive (P =.007). CONCLUSIONS: Methadone medical maintenance is complex to arrange but feasible outside a research setting, and can result in good clinical outcomes