title: Heroin-assisted treatment in the Netherlands: History, findings, and international context.
abstract: This monograph describes the history, findings and international context of heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) in the Netherlands. The monograph consists of (1) a short introduction and seven paragraphs describing the following aspects of HAT in the Netherlands: (2) history of HAT studies and implementation of routine HAT in the Netherlands; (3) main findings on efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness from the two randomized controlled HAT trials in the Netherlands; (4) new findings from a large cohort study on the effectiveness of HAT in routine clinical practice in the Netherlands; (5) unique data on the patient's perspective of HAT; (6) data on the pharmacological and pharmaceutical basis for HAT in the Netherlands; (7) description of the registration process; and (8) account of the international context of HAT. Together, these data show that HAT can now be considered a safe and proven-effective intervention for the treatment of chronic, treatment-resistant heroin dependent patients.
authors.affiliation: Central Committee on the Treatment of Heroin Addicts (CCBH), Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blanken
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van den Brink
authors.forename: Vincent M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Hendriks
authors.forename: Ineke A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Huijsman
authors.forename: Marjolein G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Klous
authors.forename: Elisabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Rook
authors.forename: Jennifer S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wakelin
authors.forename: Cas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barendrecht
authors.forename: Jos H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Beijnen
authors.forename: Jan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: van Ree
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005260:Female; D003932:Heroin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009294:Narcotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D003932:Heroin