Allegheny County Jail now offering treatment for opioid use disorder without a prescription
A month after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Allegheny County Jail officials announced Friday that incarcerated people with opioid use disorder can now be treated with buprenorphine as part of their medication-assisted treatment program.
Even patients who don’t have a prescription will be able to benefit from Suboxone, Subutex and Sublocade.
Prior to the announcement, patients at the jail could be treated only if they had a prescription from a community provider.
Jail officials said in a news release that 12 people are already being treated with the medication. In addition to the medication, one-on-one and group counseling are also available.
“This will make a significant impact on patient care,” said Renee Madden, a jail deputy health services administrator. “Medication-assisted treatment saves lives.”
On Nov. 30, Justice Department officials said they had reached an agreement with Allegheny County Jail officials after the jail denied access to methadone to a man being held there even though he had been receiving treatment from a licensed provider prior to incarceration.
Justice Department officials said opioid use disorder is considered a disability under federal law. Under the settlement agreement, the jail was required to pay the man $10,000.
Jail officials said they have been working on the treatment program for months in coordination with the Department of Human Services and its medical partners.
Six of 10 new substance abuse recovery nurses are working and screening patients. Two additional nurses are being trained.
If a person expresses interest in the program, they will be assessed. If they meet the criteria, they will be scheduled at the Addiction Medicine Provider’s next available clinic day, usually within a week or two.
The next step in the process, the jail said, will be methadone induction. A request for proposal has been issued, and the goal is to be able to induct methadone by October.
For years, the jail has used induction with naltrexone and Vivitrol for alcohol use.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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