What are the different phases of office-based treatment for opioid dependence that involve me?
SUBOXONE treatment is usually broken down into 6 phases, but only 4 of those involve the pharmacist: induction, stabilization, maintenance, and medically supervised withdrawal. Induction: The goal of induction is to safely suppress opioid withdrawal as rapidly as possible with adequate doses of SUBOXONE. Patients cannot begin their induction to SUBOXONE (and off of their previous opioid) until they are experiencing mild-to-moderate withdrawal symptoms. Induction is complete when the patient experiences no withdrawal symptoms, no uncontrollable opioid cravings, and minimal to no side effects. The induction phase usually averages about 2 to 5 days. Stabilization: During stabilization, the patient’s SUBOXONE dose is “fine-tuned.” The objective is to find the minimum dose necessary to keep the patient in treatment. After each dose adjustment, 3 to 7 days should be allowed for steady-state blood levels to be achieved. Stabilization can last anywhere from a week to several weeks. Maintenance
