Methadone vs buprenorphine

Your review on methadone and buprenorphine treatments casts doubt upon their effectiveness in general practice due to a lack of controlled research in the community.1 By the same standard, we should not be able to treat diabetes, depression or arthritis in general practice. Community, rather than specialist treatment is widely regarded as preferable for chronic conditions and it is the only feasible means of treatment outside metropolitan areas. Furthermore, adequate coverage of drug using populations in treatment cannot be achieved without extensive involvement of general practice-based treatment. The quality of clinic-based care is also quite variable.2 Despite giving 56 references, these authors fail to cite the many peer-reviewed descriptive and comparative reports of addiction treatments in general practice.3-8 Yet they quote a small British study of people on low methadone doses (average 43.5 mg, range = 20–80mg) and with high prevalence of heroin …