The Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health, referring to the notification of two new guides in the field of addiction treatment, referred to the situation of methadone distribution: At present, the decision of the Anti-Drug Headquarters is to give methadone for addiction. Treatment centers, not pharmacies.
Dr.. Said Karimi in an interview with reporters. Regarding the distribution of methadone in methadone maintenance treatment centers as well as identifying new methods of treatment and addiction treatment, he said: In the past, addiction treatment centers were called MMT (MAITANANC THARPY METHADON), and naming these centers was as if the only duty of these centers was to administer methadone continuously. . This is despite the fact that the mission of these centers goes beyond this and must go in the direction left by a number of people suffering from addiction. Of course, there is a lower risk for some addicts, but their package of services is diverse and the drugs they have on hand are not just methadone, but all kinds of drugs. Therefore, the name of these centers was changed to SUD, which stands for Substance Use Disorder.
There are about 8,000 addiction treatment centers in the country
Pointing out that there are about 8,000 addiction treatment centers in the country, he said: These centers have been operating for 20 years and there has been no significant change in them. Accordingly, and in accordance with the decisions of the National Command for Drug Control, it was the duty of the Ministry of Health to review all the instructions of these centers, through two directives, one of which is specific to the centers and the other is related to treatment and new treatment methods. Treatment .. He was brought up in the vice president of treatment at the drug control headquarters and took relevant measures. After reviewing and collecting the opinions of all members, they are communicated and completed through the Anti-Narcotics Headquarters.
Notification of 2 new guidelines for addiction treatment by the Ministry of Health
He stated that the guidelines for new methods of addiction treatment are 80 pages long and many new methods have been proposed, adding that the tariffs for these new methods of addiction treatment have been almost decided. At the same time, the characteristics that the centers should have were announced, which will be announced after completion.
Distribution of methadone in pharmacies or addiction treatment centers?
Regarding the distribution of methadone in addiction treatment centers, Karimi said: Currently, the decision of the Anti-Narcotics Presidency is to give methadone to addiction treatment centers and not to pharmacies. Because methadone is not a drug that people can easily get from a pharmacy. There should be a place for it to be prescribed and consumed under a doctor’s supervision. Currently, according to the opinion of the Drug Control Headquarters, methadone addiction treatment centers are delivered, prescribed and consumed under the supervision of a physician. Of course, it is not necessarily like this in the world and it is distributed in pharmacies under certain conditions.
How to prevent methadone leakage
Regarding the measures taken to prevent methadone leakage from addiction treatment centers, he said: By the way, new measures have been taken in this field; So that methadone is prescribed in an electronic system and recorded with a national code showing who was given the drug and in what quantity. Previously, a system in this area did not have many reporting and dashboard capabilities. Now, in the new electronic system that will be announced soon, we are moving towards being completely transparent and traceable as to how much medication and methadone was prescribed to whom, whether a person’s consumption decreased or gradually increased, how many patients they had and…all distinct .
Karimi also said about the quota of methadone in the centers: Currently, a quota of 100 is allocated to addiction treatment centers. Because they usually have 100 patients. However, after the launch of the electronic system, the amount of consumption of the centers is easily calculated and the stake is given to the centers based on the amount of consumption.
the end of the letter
