NIH consensus conferences constitute a science forum where a panel of independent nongovernment experts examines the scientific evidence and makes recommendations on an area of medicine. During the course of the conference on treating heroin addiction, the consensus panel, chaired by Dr. Lewis L. Judd of the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, focused on determining the effectiveness of methadone treatment. After conducting a thorough review of the accumulated data and listening to expert testimony and public debate on the issues, the panel stated unequivocally that addiction to opiate drugs such as heroin is a disease of the brain and a medical disorder that can be effectively treated. Methadone treatment significantly lowers illicit opiate drug use, reduces opiate-related illness and death, reduces crime, and enhances social productivity, the panel concluded. Despite methadone's effectiveness, less than 20 percent of the estimated 600,000 heroin addicts in the United States are being treated in methadone treatment programs, the panel noted.
Many barriers limit the availability of methadone treatment.
These barriers include unnecessary laws administered by a number of Federal agencies and many State and local governments that burden treatment programs with excessive regulatory requirements and duplicative inspections. Some of these regulations restrict treatment programs' ability to tailor methadone doses to the needs of individual patients. Other regulations require physicians to obtain a special Federal registration to use methadone to treat narcotic addiction, thus limiting the number of physicians who are available to treat heroin addiction. Wider use of methadone treatment also is restricted by a shortage of physicians and other health care professionals who are trained to treat heroin addiction, and inadequate funding to provide methadone treatment slots for all those who require them. The panel recommended a number of steps to improve access to methadone treatment for all people addicted to heroin and other opiate drugs.