Triage in opioid replacement therapy: what's the wait?

Area of Science:

• Addiction Medicine
• Public Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Opioid Replacement Therapy (ORT) is a critical treatment for opioid use disorder.
• Wait times for ORT services in Australia are suspected but not well-quantified.
• Understanding access barriers is essential for effective public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the extent of wait times for ORT assessment appointments in an Australian urban clinic.
• To analyze the influence of patient triage processes on access to ORT.
• To provide data for improving ORT service delivery.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of data from an urban, publicly funded ORT clinic (2009-2011).
• Inclusion of 803 patients seeking ORT assessment.
• Descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier estimator for cumulative incidence of wait times.

Main Results:

• The study identified and quantified wait times for ORT assessment appointments.
• Triage processes were explored for their impact on patient access to ORT.
• Data provides insights into the real-world accessibility of ORT services.

Conclusions:

• The study quantifies wait times for ORT, highlighting a significant barrier to treatment access.
• Triage protocols play a key role in influencing patient entry into ORT programs.
• Further research is recommended to address identified limitations and optimize ORT service delivery.