Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of take-home doses of opioid agonist therapy in Ontario, Canada

A population-based time-series analysis

Healthcare disruptions and physical distancing measures put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic prompted concerns around access to opioid agonist therapy (OAT). On March 22, 2020, Ontario released new guidance recommending that clinicians use their judgement to increase the number of take-home doses for people already receiving them, and to provide limited numbers of take-home doses for individuals who may not have been eligible under the existing treatment guidelines.

This study assesses the impact of COVID-19 associated public health restrictions and changes in guidance for the provision of OAT on patterns of take-home doses of methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone.

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