The politics of providing opioid pharmacotherapy

Citation

Radcliffe P & Parkes T (2013) The politics of providing opioid pharmacotherapy. International Journal of Drug Policy, 24 (6), pp. e6-e10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.09.009

Abstract
First paragraph: People using opioid pharmacotherapy (OPT, methadone and buprenorphine medications used for maintenance purposes) have recently provided accounts of the stigma that is often part of the treatment experience (Anstice et al., 2009, Harris and McElrath, 2012, Strike et al., 2013), as well as the restrictive and punitive practices (Chandler et al., 2013, Crawford, 2013), and structural violence (Treloar & Valentine, 2013), inherent within the treatment systems they encounter. The views of treatment providers about their social and political location and agency within OPT systems have not, we believe, been adequately examined from a critical perspective. While Neale, in her editorial for this special issue (2013), refers to research on providers’ perspectives, such studies have tended to focus on specific clinical aspects of OPT rather than locating providers more explicitly within the contexts of what many understand to be an inherently controversial and contested area of health care.

Keywords
Health Policy; Medicine (miscellaneous)

Journal
International Journal of Drug Policy: Volume 24, Issue 6

People

Professor Tessa Parkes

Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences