What is Ost and why is it important?
OST is very effective at keeping service users in treatment: people are 3 to 4 times more likely to stay in treatment if on methadone compared to no OST. Being on OST halves the risk of fatal overdose.
How do I apply for opioid substitution treatment (Ost)?
Each patient entering CPOP must be individually authorised in writing to receive OST. Prescribers should apply using the Application to prescribe opioid substitution treatment form (Word 876KB). Patients must sign the acknowledgment section.
How do I go to the hospital in Sweden?
Visit your local Swedish healthcare centre, known as a vårdcentraler In case of emergency, the number to dial is 112. Emergency care is available for everyone including those without state health insurance or without a GP, such as tourists. However, once you're recovered they’ll want proof of your travel or international insurance.
Can I use ost if I only occasionally use opioids?
People who only occasionally use opioids are usually unsuitable for OST. The service user needs to be either using opioids regularly right now or likely to start using them regularly again very soon. If there is any regular opioid use, or risk of returning to it, an MDT should discuss the case.
1. What OST is and how it works
1.1 Core elements of OST People who become dependent on heroin or other illicit opioids often benefit from opioid substitution treatment (OST). The...
2. Why you should use OST
2.1 Reasons for using OST There are a number of good reasons for using OST, because: it reduces drug use, injecting, mortality and offending methad...
3. Roles and responsibilities
This section outlines the main functions that different professionals have when working together to deliver OST. 3.1 Your role in OST As a drug tre...
4. Drug treatment conversations: what works
Service users starting treatment usually have mixed feelings about reducing or stopping using heroin. Drug treatment and recovery workers can use s...
5. Initial conversations about treatment options including OST
In your role as a frontline drug treatment and recovery worker, you’re often the first person to discuss the treatment options including OST with s...
6. Types of interventions when entering treatment
Your early conversations about treatment with people who use opioids should explore the range of pharmacological, psychosocial and harm reduction i...
7. When OST is suitable for a service user
7.1 Conditions that need to be met to prescribe OST An MDT should discuss anyone who has come to a service using opioids or is at risk of returning...
8. Choosing an appropriate opioid substitute
People who use heroin will often already have views on OST medications based on their own or others’ experiences.Oral methadone and buprenorphine a...
What is the central aim of Swedish drug policy?
The central aim of Swedish drug policy is to create a drug-free society. To achieve this aim, the country has adopted a punitive, enforcement-led approach to drugs. It is this approach, some have argued, that is responsible for Sweden’s historically low levels of drug use. This apparent success of the Swedish model is therefore often presented as ...
When did Sweden start criminalising drug use?
Since then, the maximum penalties for drug offences have been gradually ratcheted up, and in 1988 Sweden took the unusual step of criminalising not only drug possession, but drug use too.
How many deaths did Sweden have in 2012?
Further demonstrating that low levels of drug use do not necessarily equal low levels of drug-related harm, Sweden’s drug-induced mortality rate was 62.6 deaths per million in 2012, more than three times the European average of 17.1 deaths per million. 21 In 2012, the drug-induced mortality rate in Portugal – which complemented its decriminalisation policy with an expansion of harm reduction services – was just 2.3 deaths per million. 22 Sweden’s is therefore 30 times higher.
Is drug use increasing in Sweden?
Also of note is that levels of drug use in Sweden, while in relative terms still very low, are increasing. Furthermore, the Swedish model – in particular its antipathy to proven harm reduction measures – has had serious negative consequences that are almost never mentioned by its advocates.
Is Sweden a conservative country?
Sweden also has a somewhat socially conservative and abstemious culture, with relatively low levels of alcohol and tobacco use, and low levels of prescription drug use too. But it is important to recognise that the effectiveness of drug policy should not be judged on the prevalence of use alone; there are a number of other indicators of success, ...
Is OST a zero tolerance program?
Some OST centres have a zero-tolerance stance on the use of other drugs, leading to fewer people being retained in treatment . OST in prison started as a pilot project in 2007 and was continued as a national programme in 2010, but coverage remains poor 18.
Community Program for Opioid Pharmacotherapy
The prescribing of Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) is restricted to authorised medical practitioners participating in the Community Program for Opioid Pharmacotherapy (CPOP).
Schedule 8 Prescribing Code
The Schedule 8 Medicines Prescribing Code (the Code) (Word 370KB) governs the prescribing of OST in Western Australia. The Code outlines responsibilities of prescribers and requirements of the Department of Health. It is a legal requirement to adhere to the Code when prescribing CPOP, at all times.
CPOP Clinical Policies and Procedures
Authorised prescribers must adhere to the Clinical Policies and Procedures for the Use of Methadone and Buprenorphine in the Treatment of Dependence (the Policies) (external site).