Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Addict Sci Clin Pract 2022 Aug 9;17(1):43. Epub 2022 Aug 9.

Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington D.C., USA.

Background: Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs), including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, decrease mortality and morbidity for people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Buprenorphine and methadone have the strongest evidence base among MOUDs. Unlike methadone, buprenorphine may be prescribed in office-based settings in the U. Read More

JAMA Netw Open 2022 Aug 1;5(8):e2225582. Epub 2022 Aug 1.

Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island.

Importance: Fatal and nonfatal opioid overdoses are at record levels, and emergency department (ED) visits may be an opportune time to intervene. Peer-led models of care are increasingly common; however, little is known about their effectiveness.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a peer-led behavioral intervention compared with the standard behavioral intervention delivered in the ED on engagement in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment within 30 days after the ED encounter. Read More

Int J Drug Policy 2022 Jul 19:103786. Epub 2022 Jul 19.

Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States.

Background: The United States overdose crisis continues unabated. Despite efforts to increase capacity for treating opioid use disorder (OUD) in the U.S. Read More

J Subst Abuse Treat 2022 Jul 29;141:108850. Epub 2022 Jul 29.

Carnevale Associates, United States of America.

Introduction: A 2012 national survey found low utilization of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in US drug courts. This study provides an update on MOUD policies and practices among drug courts in communities that the opioid epidemic has substantially impacted.

Methods: The study surveyed adult drug courts (N = 169, 80 % response rate) in US counties with high opioid mortality rates or numbers of opioid-related deaths about their policies and practices relating to MOUD and the overdose-reversal medication, naloxone. Read More

J Addict Med 2022 Aug 2. Epub 2022 Aug 2.

From the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (ANH, NB, BLF); Department of Psychiatry, King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (ANH); Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (ANH, BLF); Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (ANH, BLF); Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (ANH, BLF); Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (NB, BLF); Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada (DJ-A); Research Centre, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada (DJ-A); British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (MES); Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (MES); Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Veterans' Memorial Lane, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (SHS); Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Life Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (SHS); Department of Medicine and Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (RL); Waypoint Research Institute, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada (BLF).

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is a critical measure of quality of care across health disciplines because it may affect clinical outcomes.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine longitudinal patient satisfaction in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) randomized to receive either standard methadone or flexible buprenorphine/naloxone models of care, its predictors, and association with dropout/illicit drug use.

Methods: This study assessed patient satisfaction, using the 8-item version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), as a secondary outcome of a large phase IV pragmatic randomized controlled trial (OPTIMA). Read More