Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jun;36(6):584-589.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.01.032. Epub 2011 Jan 27.

Using medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders: evidence of barriers and facilitators of implementation

Paul M Roman  1 , Amanda J Abraham  2 , Hannah K Knudsen  3
Affiliations

Using medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders: evidence of barriers and facilitators of implementation

Paul M Roman et al. Addict Behav. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

The use of medications to treat substance use disorders (SUDs) has emerged as a potentially central part of the treatment armamentarium. In this paper we present data from several recent US national surveys showing that despite the clinical promise of these medications, there has been limited adoption of pharmacotherapies in the treatment of SUDs. The data reveal variable patterns of use of disulfiram, buprenorphine, tablet naltrexone, acamprosate and injectable naltrexone. After examining the environmental and institutional context for the adoption of pharmacotherapies, the specific organizational facilitators and barriers of medication adoption are considered. The paper concludes with a discussion of the minimal clinical and administrative guidance available to enhance adoption, the lack of client and consumer knowledge of medications that puts a brake on their adoption and availability, and the difficulties that must be surmounted in bringing new medications to market.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

All authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Adoption of Disulfiram for Private, Public, and CTN Programs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Adoption of Tablet Naltrexone for Private, Public, and CTN Programs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Adoption of Buprenorphine for Private, Public, and CTN Programs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Adoption of Acamprosate for Public and CTN Programs.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Adoption of Injectable naltrexone at W3 for Private, Public, and CTN Programs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abraham AJ, Ducharme LJ, Roman PM. Counselor attitudes toward pharmacotherapies for alcohol dependence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2009;70:628–635. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abraham AJ, Knudsen HK, Rothrauff TC, Roman PM. The adoption of alcohol pharmacotherapies in the Clinical Trials Network: The influence of research network participation. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. 2010;38:275–283. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abraham AJ, Roman PM. Early adoption of injectable naltrexone for alcohol use disorders: Findings from the private treatment sector. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2010;71:460–466. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ducharme LJ, Knudsen HK, Roman PM. Trends in the adoption of medications for alcohol dependence. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2006;26:S13–S19. - PubMed
    1. Ducharme LJ, Knudsen HK, Roman PM, Johnson AJ. Innovation adoption in substance abuse treatment: Exposure, trialability, and the Clinical Trials Network. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. 2007;32:321–329. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms