Abstract：
Background: Opioid treatment programs (OTPs) permit patients to ingest daily methadone doses unsupervised and away from the clinic, a strategy that enhances treatment access and convenience but has the potential for mismanagement.Objective: This retrospective review, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic (5/2020-1/2022), evaluates the feasibility and acceptability of a commercially available electronic pillbox to safely administer methadone take-home tablets in a large community-based OTP (census >500 people).Methods: Study participants (n = 24; 54% male, 46% female; M age = 63 years) had recently received more take-homes per visit to support national social distancing directives, and were instructed that they could maintain these privileges by agreeing to use the pillbox.Results: Results demonstrate good demand feasibility as most participants (71%) agreed to use the pillbox. Good implementation feasibility was observed through safe and reliable delivery of most take-home tablets, with a staff support line to resolve technical issues. Acceptability was modest as six participants (25%) requested to return the pillbox despite losing some take-home privileges.Conclusion: Results support continued use and study of the electronic pillbox to safely deliver and increase access to methadone take-home doses.
摘要：
背景：阿片类药物治疗计划（OTP）允许患者在没有监督的情况下每天服用美沙酮剂量，远离诊所，一种增强治疗可及性和便利性的策略，但可能会导致管理不善。目的：本回顾性研究，在COVID-19大流行期间进行（5/2020-1/2022），评估在大型社区OTP(人口普查>500人)中使用市售电子药盒安全施用美沙酮家用片剂的可行性和可接受性。方法：研究参与者(n=24；54%男性，46％的女性；M岁=63岁）最近每次访问都收到了更多的收容所，以支持国家社会距离指令，并指示他们可以通过同意使用药丸盒来维持这些特权。结果：结果显示良好的需求可行性，因为大多数参与者（71％）同意使用药丸盒。通过安全可靠地交付大多数带回家的片剂，观察到良好的实施可行性，与员工支持线解决技术问题。可接受性不高，因为尽管失去了一些带回家的特权，但六名参与者（25％）要求归还药丸盒。结论：结果支持继续使用和研究电子药盒，以安全地提供和增加美沙酮带回家剂量的获取。
