Patient-centered methadone treatment (with optional counseling and the counselor not serving as the treatment program disciplinarian) does not appear to be more effective than methadone treatment-as-usual, according to a recent study. Researchers conducted a 2-arm, open-label, randomized trial at 2 methadone treatment programs in Baltimore, MD. 300 newly admitted patients were enrolled between September 13, 2011, and March 26, 2014 (59% percent males with a mean age of 42.7 years [standard deviation=10.1]). They found:

• There was no significant difference between patient-centered methadone treatment and treatment-as-usual conditions in opioid-positive urine screens at 12 months.
• There were also no significant differences in any of the secondary outcome measures except Quality of Life Global Score.
• There were no significant differences between conditions in the number of individual or group counseling sessions attended.