Doctors cry for help for methadone scheme

This comes from a news source in Australia. We think there is stigma and problems surrounding methadone here in the US.......I can't believe some of the reports of how the patients are acting! No wonder the public has the attitude about MMT pts there.

original link for the story is

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/doctors-cry-for-help-for-methadone-scheme-20101226-197y0.html

and it comes from theage.com.au news source


Doctors cry for help for methadone scheme
Katie Weiss December 27, 2010


FEAR of attack by violent patients has caused a shortage of doctors willing to prescribe methadone to drug addicts in Victoria, according to practitioners calling on the government for more support for methadone programs.

A Frankston doctor shot by a drug-addicted patient 13 years ago says methadone patients confront him with physical violence daily, and many other doctors are intimidated by potential danger or abuse.

Andrew Taylor, who practises pharmacotherapy at Frankston Healthcare, was shot in the chest in 1997 by a patient demanding prescribed narcotics at a Frankston clinic.

Advertisement: Story continues below Dr Taylor says he and other doctors fear for their safety. ''I get threatened every day,'' he told The Age.

Many qualified doctors refuse to practise pharmacotherapy because of a stigma surrounding drug-addicted patients, according to the head of clinical services at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Matthew Frei.

''General practitioners may be reluctant to undertake treatment of opioid-addicted patients due to concern about 'that type of patient' in their clinic,'' Dr Frei wrote in a recent issue of Australian Family Physician journal.

''They may be worried about being inundated with complex patients.''

The shortage of pharmacotherapy doctors was an obstacle for drug addicts seeking treatment, Dr Frei wrote.

In Victoria, just 30 prescribers reportedly hold 60 per cent of all patients' anti-addiction drug permits - 220 clients for each prescriber.

''My opinion would be that the sooner you can get someone into treatment of this condition, the sooner you prevent harmful consequences to the individual and the community,'' Dr Frei said.

''I think that the majority [of drug abusers] are not getting access to treatment. I don't think it's a controversial situation; I think it's a likely situation.''

Methadone patient ''Lee'', 32, of Frankston, said he normally waits two hours to see the doctor for a monthly renewal of his methadone prescription. He said the long wait makes him anxious and sometimes tempts him to use heroin again.

Doctors receive little financial incentive from the state government to practise pharmacotherapy, according to Victorian Alcohol And Drug Association executive officer Sam Biondo. Medicare pays doctors $34.90 for each methadone patient they treat - but only after exhaustive permit request forms are completed.

Pharmacotherapy clinics also lack financial compensation for expensive security devices needed when treating drug-dependent patients. This year, Frankston Healthcare paid $23,000 for a heavy-duty security door and television surveillance camera.

''There are issues at the prescriber end, in that there's not enough doctors that take on the work,'' Mr Biondo said. ''Many doctors feel that those sorts of clients are disruptive, not economic and something they don't want to focus on.''

This month, VAADA urged the state to provide funding incentives and ongoing support to pharmacotherapy doctors in its response to the federal government's National Drug Strategy for 2010 to 2015.

Mr Biondo also said the daily dispensing fee of $5 per methadone dose should be scrapped or reduced because many patients were pensioners or unemployed and had trouble paying the methadone fee.

''There's been a lot of concern expressed in the community sector for many years for the need for more GPs prescribing,'' he said.

''There are a number of prescribers who work under very heavy loads when it should be shared evenly across the profession.''

Victorian Minister for Mental Health and Community Services Mary Wooldridge blamed ''11 years of Labor neglect'' for drug treatment services being ''stretched to breaking point''.

The Baillieu government was committed to improving drug treatment options, she said.