San Francisco Launches Initiative To Seek Out Drug Users And Offer Anti-Addiction Prescriptions On The Street
Medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone is widely considered the most effective way to wean users off opioids, but a major barrier is getting people the treatment. "We can’t wait for addicts to come to us. We have to go to them and engage. And offer. And give support,” said Barbara Garcia, director of health for the city and county of San Francisco.
The Washington Post:
San Francisco Will Bring Anti-Addiction Medication To Users On The Streets
San Francisco will begin supplying anti-addiction medication to long-term drug users and homeless people on city streets, an attempt to overcome a formidable obstacle to treatment that has complicated efforts to address the opioid crisis. The city is scheduled to announce Thursday that its medical providers will offer buprenorphine and naltrexone prescriptions at needle exchanges, in parks and in other places where people with opioid disorders congregate. Users will be able to pick up the medications, which block the craving for opioids and the painful symptoms of withdrawal, at a centrally located city-run pharmacy. (Bernstein, 5/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Mayor’s Bold Plan To Treat Heroin Addicts On The Street
San Francisco’s mayor wants to create a special medical team — the first of its kind in the nation — to spread out onto the city’s streets and give homeless people a drug that one expert calls “blindingly effective” at abruptly stopping heroin cravings. ...Buprenorphine, widely available only in recent years and commonly known by its main brand name Suboxone, works faster and causes fewer side effects than methadone. (Fagan, 5/16)
In other news on the crisis —
KPCC:
How ER Docs Could Play A Key Role In Fighting The Opioid Epidemic
Emergency departments are a frequent stop for people hooked on opioids. ...But momentum is building to get emergency departments to play a bigger role in stemming the epidemic. At County USC, Dr. Rebecca Trotsky is piloting a program that would start treatment for suspected opioid use disorders in the ER. (Replogle, 5/17)