Opioid overdoses have reached epidemic proportions. While the best solution would be to prevent opioid overdoses in the first place, an important piece in the effort to reduce these fatalities is to have a good way of preventing overdoses from leading to death. That’s where the opioid antagonist naloxone (Narcan) comes in.
First approved in 2002, Suboxone, a sublingual pill, was undoubtedly a breakthrough in opiate addiction treatment—especially as compared to methadone. Unlike methadone, Suboxone could be prescribed in the office and filled at pharmacies, freeing patients from the shackles of the methodone lifestyle and its required daily clinic visits.
The ASAM Criteria—the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s guidelines for addiction treatment—are not just a tool for program administrators and insurance bureaucrats. They provide a useful conceptual framework for thinking about your patients and what kind of care they need.
Find out what the FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) program focusing on extended-release and long-acting opioid analgesic medications is all about, in an interview with Edwin A. Salsitz, MD.