Malmö Treatment Referral and Intervention Study (MATRIS)–effective referral from syringe exchange to treatment for heroin dependence: a pilot randomized controlled trial

ConclusionsA randomized controlled trial in a syringe exchange programme showed no evidence that a strength‐based case management intervention improved attendance for treatment over referral alone. Attendance rates were high in both groups. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. (Source: Addiction)

Malmö Treatment Referral and Intervention Study (MATRIS)–effective referral from syringe exchange to treatment for heroin dependence: a pilot randomized controlled trial

ConclusionsA randomized controlled trial in a syringe exchange programme showed no evidence that a strength‐based case management intervention improved attendance for treatment over referral alone. Attendance rates were high in both groups. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. (Source: Addiction)

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Long‐term outcomes after randomization to buprenorphine/naloxone versus methadone in a multi‐site trial

ConclusionsThere are few differences in long‐term outcomes between buprenorphine and methadone treatment for opioid dependence, and treatment with each medication is associated with a strong reduction in opioid use. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. (Source: Addiction)

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Now comes the hard part: Turning national attention into action

An AMA Viewpoints post by Patrice A. Harris, MD, chair-elect of the AMA Board of Trustees

A father of five in Charleston, W. Va., last month told President Obama at a public event that if it weren’t for the quick response of police and paramedics earlier this year, his daughter would have died from a drug overdose. She is now in recovery, and the president—and the rest of us in the East End Community Center that day—wished him and his daughter the best.

Recovering from addiction, however, is not like recovering from a broken bone. It is a chronic medical disease that demands our care and compassion—as physicians and as a nation. We know that more than 24,000 Americans die from a prescription opioid or heroin-related overdose every year. Last month in Charleston, the president…