[Methadone substitution in public health management--results of a random day study sample]

Subject of this paper is methadone-maintenance given by the office-based physicians in Germany within the framework of the statutory health insurance (SHI). Results of a survey of the associations of SHI-accredited physicians are presented, comprising the number of substituted patients, the distribution of indications and the number of physicians engaged in this field. The increasing trend in the number of substituted patients continues, although less steeply. Strongholds of methadone maintenance are still the cities of Hamburg, Berlin, and Bremen, where the highest rates of substituted patients were found in relation to the resident population. The method of data-gathering used trends to overestimate the number of substituted patients. Comparing the determined numbers with different data sources, the actual number of addicts who are substituted in the longer term at the cost of the SHI is estimated to be 10 000 patients.