Medication-assisted treatment tackles substance use disorders by combining behavioral therapy like counseling with a prescription medicine. In the case of opioid addiction, there are three primary medications: methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. Multiple considerations influence access to each of these drugs, including the fact that the first two are themselves opioids.

Clinicians seeking to treat patients who abuse opioids with these medications encounter a variety of regulations related to their prescription and administration. Each is available under different circumstances, with particularly strict limitations for methadone, which has an ongoing stigma associated with its use. Meanwhile, clinicians may not have training for treating addiction, or may be uncertain about their ability to prescribe these medications.

As Wisconsin’s government and health care community seek to quell the burgeoning opioid crisis, the role of medications in treating addiction is gaining new significance and attracting increasing more attention.

On the March 9, 2017 edition of Wisconsin Public Radio’s Central Time, host Rob Ferrett interviewed WisContext associate editor Scott Gordon about medication-assisted treatment for people addicted to opioids.