How long should methadone maintenance be continued?
as with all other medications, methadone should be continued as long as it is effective and does not cause significant side effects, and as long as there is reason to believe that its termination would be associated with risks to the patient. Since methadone does not “cure” patients (a limitation that is true of virtually all treatment of chronic illness and, unequivocally, of all other therapeutic modalities in the field of addiction), the safe and conservative approach is to continue maintenance indefinitely. QUESTION 5: What “supportive” services should or must be provided? ANSWER: as with all other medications, methadone prescribing ideally should be accompanied by a range of services for concomitant medical, social, legal and other problems the patient may have. Optimal care of the diabetic involves more than simply prescribing insulin; high blood pressure may be controlled with appropriate anti-hypertensive drugs, but for greatest therapeutic efficacy patients should be offered a
