New Research on Drug Therapies for Opioid Use Disorder

New Research on Drug Therapies for Opioid Use Disorder

A new global review on the effectiveness of drug therapies for opioid use disorder reveals some interesting new data.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking of all is the data showing that drug therapies alone, while reducing overdoses and deaths, may serve a largely palliative function.

According to one of the lead researchers, Mr. Thomas Santo, “the first four weeks that follow (drug) treatment cessation is associated with particularly high rates of suicide and overdose-related mortality.”

This evidence suggests that medicated assisted treatment, while helpful, is not a cure for opioid use disorder and that advanced behavioral health programs, such as the one provided by Aware Recovery Care, may be the key to long-term recovery.

Research teams from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Sydney, the University of Bristol, and other institutions looked at the relationship between medication-assisted treatment and mortality across diverse population sets that included over 700,000 participants.

In addition to finding that cessation of medication-assisted treatment resulted in dramatically higher rates of suicide and over-dose related mortality, the review confirmed the risk of dying was lower for those receiving either buprenorphine or methadone during treatment.

How Aware Recovery Care fits in…

Aware provides a best-in-class, in-home addiction treatment program that increases access to high-quality, individual whole-person healthcare. Aware’s In-Home Addiction treatment (IHATTM) program is backed by a decade of experience delivering its’ innovative model while maximizing clinical outcomes and minimizing fraud, waste, and abuse.

Aware helps clients “Recover Where [They] Live,” emphasizing the home as the optimal environment where clients and families heal together.

Each client receives integrated behavioral and medical health care from a multi-disciplinary team that includes a psychiatric professional, a registered nurse or licensed social worker, a licensed family therapist, and two certified in-home addiction treatment coaches and/or counselors who meet with the client in the home for up to a year. Aware’s core treatment team addresses the medical, emotional, and mental health issues required to maintain sobriety and achieve lasting recovery.

Aware Recovery Care offers each client the possibility of receiving longer-term recovery while maintaining their privacy and meeting their day-to-day responsibilities while remaining engaged at work, in school, and with their families.

“Years of patient outcomes and more than 19 quarters of third-party utilization data from our health plan partners validate the effectiveness of the Aware model of care,” said Matthew Eacott, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Aware Recovery Care.

If you’re struggling with an addiction to alcohol and/or drugs and need help in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Florida, Southern Maine, and Indiana, the recovery teams at Aware Recovery Care are here to help. Our unique model of care is giving clients a significantly better chance of recovery when compared to traditional inpatient rehab care. To learn more, please contact one of our Recovery Specialists.