Medication-assisted treatment

Medication-assisted treatment combines medications with counseling or behavioral therapies to treat substance use disorders. It is especially associated with opioid use disorder, where medication can reduce withdrawal, craving, and overdose risk.

Opioid use disorder: A chronic condition characterized by compulsive opioid use despite harmful consequences. The treatment is most commonly discussed and studied in this specific substance use disorder.
Alcohol use disorder: A medical condition involving impaired control over alcohol use and continued use despite significant harm. Medication-based care also includes approved options for reducing drinking or supporting abstinence.
Abstinence-only treatment: A treatment approach that defines recovery as stopping all non-prescribed substances, often without maintenance medication. It differs from care that regards prescribed medication as compatible with recovery.
Overdose prevention: Measures that reduce the likelihood of fatal drug overdose and improve survival when overdose occurs. Continuing opioid treatment lowers overdose risk, while naloxone and safer-use measures provide additional protection.
Methadone: A long-acting opioid medication used to treat opioid use disorder and pain. Regular dosing suppresses withdrawal and craving without producing the rapid highs associated with short-acting opioids.
Tobacco use disorder: A condition marked by persistent tobacco use and difficulty stopping despite harmful consequences. Nicotine replacement and other medications are commonly paired with counseling to support cessation.
Detoxification: The medically managed process of addressing acute withdrawal from a substance. Withdrawal management alone does not provide the continuing treatment that medication-assisted care can offer.
Opioid overdose: A life-threatening reaction to opioids that can suppress breathing and cause death. Reducing overdose deaths is a central public health reason for expanding effective opioid treatment.
Buprenorphine: A partial opioid agonist used to treat opioid use disorder and, in some formulations, pain. Its partial agonist action can relieve withdrawal and craving while limiting opioid effects.
Office-based opioid treatment: Treatment for opioid use disorder delivered in outpatient medical practices, commonly with buprenorphine. It shows how medication treatment can be integrated into general medical care.

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