
Office-Based Opioid Treatment Programs – also called OBOTs – are a type of outpatient addiction treatment designed for people living with opioid use disorder (OUD). OBOTS are classified under the general umbrella of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), which is the gold-standard therapeutic approach for treating people with OUD.
Full Answer
What are the signs of an opioid addiction?
The degeneration of the nerve cells that reduce pain can lead to a physical dependence on opiates as an external supply source. Long-term opiate abuse can lead to opiate dependence, which is characterized by withdrawal symptoms like sweating, insomnia, and nausea when a person stops using the drugs abruptly.
What is the best treatment for opiate addiction?
There are many treatment options to choose from, but research suggests the most effective form of treatment for Opiate addiction is inpatient detox followed by inpatient rehab. Inpatient rehab centers have specialized programs for individuals suffering from this type of substance use disorder.
How much will the opioid settlements help opioid victims?
The total of these settlements with drug distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, along with opioid manufacturers Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma, could be as high as $26 billion. North Carolina could receive as much as $850 million over an 18-year period.
What is the opioid crisis, and what caused it?
The fund aims to help public health officials and health care providers better understand the root causes of the opioid crisis as well as research optimal treatments for opioid addiction and chronic pain. “PlaySmart” saw promising results in its pilot ...

What is the most common form of treatment for opioid dependence?
The most common medications used in the treatment of opioid addiction are methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. Counseling is recommended with the use of each of these medications. Each medication works in a different way and has its own risks and benefits.
What is the treatment for opioid addiction?
Medications, including buprenorphine (Suboxone®, Subutex®), methadone, and extended release naltrexone (Vivitrol®), are effective for the treatment of opioid use disorders. Buprenorphine and methadone are “essential medicines” according to the World Health Organization.
What is the best treatment system for addiction?
Inpatient Rehab Inpatient rehabs are a great option for individuals battling chronic addiction as well as those suffering from a co-occurring mental or behavioral disorder.
What is the difference between OTP and mat?
While a MMAT Provider offers behavioral health treatment in conjunction with MAT, it is not a requirement that a patient participate. An OTP is a program that requires a patient's adherence to the treatment plan, with the goal of ensuring that the patient has the support necessary to avoid relapse.
What are 3 options for drug abuse treatment?
There are many options that have been successful in treating drug addiction, including:behavioral counseling.medication.medical devices and applications used to treat withdrawal symptoms or deliver skills training.evaluation and treatment for co-occurring mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.More items...•
How effective is opioid treatment?
Abundant evidence shows that methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone all reduce opioid use and opioid use disorder-related symptoms, and they reduce the risk of infectious disease transmission as well as criminal behavior associated with drug use.
What is community based treatment?
Community Based Treatment refers to a specific integrated model of treatment for people affected by drug use and dependence in the community which provides a continuum of care from outreach and low threshold services, through detoxification and stabilisation to aftercare and integration, including maintenance ...
What is a treatment plan for substance abuse?
A substance abuse treatment plan is an individualized, written document that details a client's goals and objectives, the steps need to achieve those, and a timeline for treatment. These plans are mutually agreed upon with the client and the clinician.
What is the medical term for treatment using drugs?
pharmacotherapy. [fahr″mah-ko-ther´ah-pe] treatment of disease with medicines.
What is OTP treatment?
An Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) is defined as “a program or practitioner engaged in opioid treatment of individuals with an opioid agonist medication”.
What is Mat used for?
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is the use of medications in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, which is effective in the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUD) and can help some people to sustain recovery.
What does OTP stand for opioids?
What is an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP)? Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) provide medication-assisted treatment for people diagnosed with an OUD. OTPs must be certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and accredited by an independent, SAMHSA-approved accrediting body.
What was the main opiate of addiction in 2000?
In addition to allowing for the formation of OBOTs 20 years ago, when the main opiate of addiction was heroin, it created a precedent for a robust local, state, and federal response to the prescription opioid crisis we’re living with today.
When was the Drug Addiction Treatment Act passed?
In the year 2000, after three decades of research confirmed the effectiveness of MAT for people living with opioid use disorders, the U.S. Congress passed the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA 2000). This act accomplished several important things for addiction treatment at the time.
What is Suboxone used for?
The medications – such as Suboxone – help move patients out of active addiction and into a mental, physical, and psychological space in which they’re open to and capable of receiving a full continuum of comprehensive, integrated treatment for OUD.
What is the commercial name for a combination of two medications?
This article will focus on OBOTs that treat patients with Suboxone, which is the commercial name for a combination of two medications: buprenorphine and naloxone. Together, buprenorphine and naloxone work to minimize opioid withdrawal symptoms, reduce opioid cravings, and block the effects of opioids in the brain and body.
What is the best treatment for OUD?
The best treatment for OUD involves addressing not only the entire individual – i.e. offering support that heals the mind, body, and spirit – but also the family of the person in recovery and the community in which they live.
When did the FDA approve buprenorphine?
Established an environment – meaning a shift in cultural, social, and political attitudes toward MAT – that enabled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the year 2002 , to approve the use of buprenorphine. Created payment mechanisms for physicians treating patients with OUD.
Does Suboxone save lives?
That’s what we mean when we say a medication like Suboxone can save lives – because it does. Next, let’s look at the first bullet point: time-in-treatment. Research shows that the longer an individual in recovery from a substance use disorder stays in treatment, the better the treatment outcomes will be.
What is the drug used for opioid withdrawal?
Upon the initial assessment, patients are prescribed medicines like buprenorphine (Subutex, Buprenex, Butrans), buprenorphine/ naloxone combination ( Suboxone, Zubsolv), or naltrexone (Vivitrol® ) to help bypass opioid withdrawal symptoms and discourage further drug misuse. This plan does not require patients to visit the clinic every day as they ...
What is OBOT treatment?
With OBOT, a doctor can help the patient with their addiction and other medical issues they may be facing by prescribing the proper medications to manage symptoms.
What is OBOT in medical?
There are inpatient and outpatient services available, but another alternative is called office-based opioid treatment, or OBOT, and it offers many advantages. This method provides medication-assisted treatment (or MAT) by using medicines like buprenorphine with or without naltrexone (Suboxone, Buprenex, Subutex, Butrans, ...
Is the opioid epidemic preventable?
The opioid epidemic in America is still booming, causing hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths each year. These deaths are preventable and opioid addiction is treatable.
Is methadone a medical necessity?
Just as any other disease is treated by medical professionals, addiction management should also be considered a medical necessity. Unfortunately, rehab facilities and methadone clinics are viewed negatively, even though people enroll in those programs are successful in the treatment of their opioid use disorder.
Is buprenorphine a prescription drug?
Buprenorphine is a prescription medication that acts as an opioid partial agonist. Its chemical makeup is similar to opioids, but to a lesser extent, helping relieve symptoms of withdrawal in patients who have been using high doses of prescription or illicit drugs.
Examples of Rural OBOT Programs
The Rural Access to MAT in Pennsylvania (RAMP) program aims to increase access to MOUD by educating and supporting primary care physicians in rural Pennsylvania. The program recognizes that “primary care providers can be part of the solution” when armed with the knowledge and skills needed to prevent and treat opioid use disorder (OUD).
Implementation Considerations
The availability of MOUD within the primary care setting, rather than only in OTPs or through residential or outpatient programs, can help improve access to primary care services, mental health counseling, and treatment services for people with OUD in rural areas.
Resources to Learn More
Medications for Addiction Treatment: Providing Best Practice Care in a Primary Care Clinic Document A toolkit on providing medication for substance use disorders. Includes information regarding team roles and jobs, guidelines and policies, and treatment documents and workflows, among others. Author (s): Bell, G.K.
What is an OTP?
OTPs operate under the supervision of a physician and provide counseling and other recovery supports along with medical services related to dosing and treatments on site, which usually require daily visits to the clinic. OBOT programs, however, are provided by clinicians within their regular medical practice.
When was buprenorphine approved?
In 2002, the FDA approved the use of buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 expanded on DATA 2000 to allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to become eligible for a waiver as well.
What is the medication used in Obot?
In the U.S. today, OBOT uses the medications buprenorphine and/or naltrexone. OBOT programs have fewer requirements and regulations placed on the patient, which can allow easier access to treatment.
Is substance use disorder a moral failing?
A: Yes. Substance use disorder is not a moral failing. It is a chronic disease and needs to be treated as such, with the respect and dignity that any other patient is treated with.

The Definition of Office-Based Opioid Treatment
- Office-Based Opioid Treatment, which is more commonly referenced as its acronym OBOT, is a type of outpatient service that is offered outside of license opioid treatment programs and facilities. It can be provided by clinicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and licensed clinical social workers to individuals who suffer from opioid addiction. Essent...
What Happens During An Obot Program?
- Office-Based Opioid Treatment is typically administered in physicians’ primary care offices or medical practices and is combined with other types of medical and psychosocial treatments in the interest of permanent recovery. This type of treatment typically uses prescription medications like buprenorphine, naltrexone, or methadone. The most common type of medication used in OB…
Benefits of Office-Based Opioid Treatment
- 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 utilize medication, OBOT improves six month treatment engagement. Additionally, this type of treatment could come with the following benefits: 1. OBOT provides a more private treatment experience f…
Is Obot Right For You?
- While this type of treatment is becoming more popular throughout the United States, OBOT is still regulated by some states. Your state’s individual laws will determine your access to these types of programs. If you are considering Office-Based Opioid Treatment for yourself or a loved one, talk to your doctor first about whether or not their type of treatment is best for you and your family. Whi…
Examples of Rural Obot Programs
- The Rural Access to MAT in Pennsylvania(RAMP) program aims to increase access to MOUD by educating and supporting primary care physicians in rural Pennsylvania. The program recognizes that “primary...
Implementation Considerations
- The availability of MOUD within the primary care setting, rather than only in OTPs or through residential or outpatient programs, can help improve access to primary care services, mental health counseling, and treatment services for people with OUD in rural areas. This is important in rural communities where residents experience barriers to healthcare access. While the number …
Program Clearinghouse Examples
Resources to Learn More
- Medications for Addiction Treatment: Providing Best Practice Care in a Primary Care Clinic Document A toolkit on providing medication for substance use disorders. Includes information regarding team roles and jobs, guidelines and policies, and treatment documents and workflows, among others. Author(s): Bell, G.K. & Virva, S. Organization(s): Camden Coalition of Healthcare P…