Safer Stimulant Supply: Program Outcomes.
Marlene Haines, Patrick O'Byrne
PMID 39865880WHAT IT FOUND
In 28 people receiving prescription stimulant medication, weekly care-team check-ins, housing support, primary care, and Hepatitis C services, self-reported typical daily unregulated cocaine and methamphetamine use fell to zero, and nearly 90% reported accessing primary care.
Key findings
01Self-reported median daily cocaine use fell from 10 points (1 gram) to 0 points, and crystal methamphetamine use fell from 1.5 points to 0 points.
02Patients reported 71% no primary care access at intake and nearly 90% accessing primary care at follow-up; shelter living fell from 39% to 29%, and no patient moved from housed to shelter.
03Seventeen patients completed Hepatitis C testing: 8 negative, 6 positive, and 3 pending; 2 positives started treatment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 28 charts were reviewed, and they were from patients actively engaged at data collection, so it does not describe patients who were not actively engaged. This was a retrospective chart review with descriptive summaries, so it cannot show whether the program caused the changes. Substance use amounts were self-reported, and urine drug screens cannot quantify daily amount consumed. Patients received several supports at once, including prescription stimulant medication, weekly care-team check-ins, housing worker support, primary care services, and Hepatitis C program access, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Gender was grouped as men and women to protect privacy because the number of transgender patients was small.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding was provided by Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions Program under grant number 2021-HQ-000059.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that prescription stimulant medication alone caused the reported decrease in unregulated stimulant use. Patients also received weekly care-team check-ins, housing worker support, primary care services, and Hepatitis C program access, and this was a retrospective chart review.