In Denmark, overdose deaths caused by opiod aganist treatment (OAT) medication (especially methadone) is worryingly high among patients.
Researchers used registry data from over 9000 Danish OAT patients from the period spanning 2010 - 2016 to study whether negative consequences such as overdoses, use of emergency health services or crime changed when the person switched from medicine distributed from a treatment center to a pharmacy.
Researchers found that in Denmark there was an increase in these negative consequences for those patients who switched from receiving their medication from a treatment center to the pharmacy.
OAT should include more clinical follow-up than simply drug distribution in order to help minimize negative consequences for the patient and society.