What Is Office-Based Opioid Treatment and How Does It Work?

What is Office-Based Opioid Treatment

Office-Based Opioid Treatment, provided by the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000-waivered clinicians for patients with opioid use disorder, is an outpatient treatment service provided in settings other than licensed Opioid Treatment Programs. It is an effective recovery option when an abstinence-only approach may not be successful.

An Office-Based Opioid Treatment requires a medical evaluation and physical exam performed by medical professionals. Patients are offered FDA-approved medicines like Buprenorphine with or without Naloxone, or Naltrexone along with counseling and other recovery services.

Buprenorphine and Buprenorphine/Naloxone can be prescribed as a take-home prescription or administered onsite while Naltrexone is taken once a month in a clinical setting. These medications work to normalize brain chemistry, block euphoria, and relieve cravings.

How Does OBOT Work?

Office-Based Opioid Treatment programs, which have little federal oversight but vary at the state level, have fewer requirements and regulations placed on the patient and are best suited for patients looking for an alternative to methadone treatment for opioid use disorders. An individual’s treatment plan is based on individual needs.

Under the program, a person has access to drug treatment without having to go to a traditional rehabilitation center. Doctors’ offices can supply individuals with prescriptions for Buprenorphine and monitor their progress with periodic visits. Office-Based Opioid Treatment programs give you the opportunity to seek help in more places than a traditional drug treatment center.

There is a limit to the number of patients an Office-Based Opioid Treatment medical professional can treat. Clinicians can treat up to 30 patients in the first year, but the clinician can apply for approval to treat 100 patients.

Not every Office-Based Opioid Treatment program provides all treatments such as individual, group, and family counseling, psychiatric care, general medical services, family support, addiction education, and vocational and legal counseling. So, the programs are required to establish working relationships and referral pathways to providers who can provide a complete range of support to people with opioid use disorders.

Benefits of Office-Based Opioid Treatment

The benefits of Office-Based Opioid Treatment include the convenience of a prescription medication that is self-dispensed at home by the patient with periodic check-ins with their medical provider in any approved medical setting.

Health experts say that a majority of individuals who have done Office-Based Opioid Treatment have had positive and constructive experiences. When compared with types of addiction treatments that don’t use medication, Office-Based Opioid Treatment improves six month treatment engagement.

While Office-Based Opioid Treatment is becoming more and more popular throughout the United States, it is important to remember that Office-Based Opioid Treatment is still regulated by some states’ individual laws, which determine a person’s access to certain types of programs.