Interim versus standard methadone treatment: a benefit-cost analysis.
A benefit-cost analysis was conducted as part of a clinical trial in which newly-admitted methadone patients were randomly assigned to interim methadone (IM; methadone without counseling) for the first 4 months of 12 months of methadone treatment or 12 months of methadone with one of two counseling conditions. Health, residential drug treatment, criminal justice costs, and income data in 2010 dollars were obtained at treatment entry, and 4- and 12-month follow-up from 200 participants and program costs were obtained. The net benefits of treatment were greater for the IM condition but controlling for the baseline variables noted above, the difference between conditions in net monetary benefits was not significant. For the combined sample, there was a pre- to post-treatment net benefit of $1470 (95% CI: -$625; $3584) and a benefit-cost ratio of 1.5 (95% CI: 0.8, 2.3), but using our conservative approach to calculating benefits, these values were not significant.
Friends Research Institute, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. Electronic address: rschwartz@friendsresearch.org.
Robert P
RP
Schwartz
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Pierre K
PK
Alexandre
Friends Research Institute, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Sharon M
SM
Kelly
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Kevin E
KE
O'Grady
Friends Research Institute, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Jan
J
Gryczynski
Friends Research Institute, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Jerome H
JH
Jaffe
D000328:Adult; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003376:Counseling / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*
D008691:Methadone
Benefit–cost; Interim methadone; Methadone treatment