The Order and Organization of Opioid Agonist Replacement Therapy Support Service for Drug Addicts in Primary Care Settings

Abstract

Providing of medical care and replacement therapy for the addicted is the important component of the health care systems in realization of the principle of «harm reduction» from the shadow use of the forbidden substances. Recently in Ukraine, like in many other countries of the world the systemic approach to the to such groups of patients is implementing at the primary care level, and thus family doctor/general practitioner must have the needed level of knowledge, including knowledge – of legislative base, for the realization of such approach. The aim of the presented publication is an improvement of knowledge of primary care specialists in questions the medical and social help and organization of the replacement therapy to the addicted people. The article is formed as a lecture for the distance education and is continue of the previous author’s publications in «Family medicine» (№ 5–6, 2019). The article gives a general information about the basic legislative acts approved in Ukraine for regulation of the order of use and providing of the opioid replacement therapy by narcology service, the framework of the government Drug Strategy and policy in 2020 (approved at Feb. 6, 2019) is described and the information about the order of providing the replacement therapy and its goals for the specialists who works out of the nacrology service is discussed. The methods and order of work for the primary care specialist in replacement therapy program is described together with the features of methadone as a replacement drug in primary care level.