Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Media Relations >
  • News Releases >
  • 111623 methadone access
Media Relations
News Releases
Central Pa. News
North Central Pa. News
Contact Us
Experts
Community-Focused News
Media Kits
Media RSS
Media Relations
News Releases
Central Pa. News
North Central Pa. News
Contact Us
Experts
Community-Focused News
Media Kits
Media RSS

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE

Proposed Federal Law Would Expand Methadone Access, But Significant Gaps Would Remain

For Journalists

Liz Reid
Manager
412-514-7866
reide4@upmc.edu

Ashley Trentrock
Director
412-586-9776
trentrockar@upmc.edu

Want to Make an Appointment or Need Patient Information?
Contact UPMC at

1-800-533-8762.

Go to Find a Doctor to search for a UPMC doctor.

2022 PITT HS

11/16/2023

PITTSBURGH — The federal Modernizing Opioid Treatment Act, or MOTA, would expand methadone access to an additional 14% of census tracts in the U.S., according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh published recently in Health Affairs Scholar.

The proposed law would change not only who can prescribe methadone, but also where it can be dispensed. Currently, only clinicians at federally certified opioid treatment programs can prescribe and dispense the drug for opioid use disorder, which studies have shown is one of the most effective treatments for the condition. Often, a patient must visit a clinic each day to receive their dose. Under MOTA, any addiction medicine physician or psychiatrist could prescribe the drug, and it would be available at pharmacies in addition to certified clinics. Because of the limited number of addiction specialist physicians in the U.S., researchers examined if broader prescribing privileges, including prescribing by primary care clinicians, may be necessary to meet the scale of the overdose epidemic.

Paul Joudrey release“The regulations around methadone create substantial barriers for people suffering from opioid use disorder,” said lead author Paul Joudrey, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Pitt School of Medicine. “The lack of access disproportionately affects people in rural and suburban areas, which are less likely to have methadone treatment available under current law.”

Methadone is available in 49% of U.S. census tracts; for suburban and rural tracts, the rates drop to 34% and 10%, respectively. The findings show that MOTA would expand availability to an additional 18% of suburban and 15% of rural census tracts, potentially preventing thousands of opioid overdose deaths each year.

However, since many areas would still lack access to methadone treatment under the proposed change, the study also examined a third scenario, wherein any clinician with prescribing privileges, including primary care physicians, could prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder treatment. In that case, access would expand to 86% of total tracts, including 87% of suburban tracts and 68% of rural tracts.

“While proposed changes to federal law would certainly make methadone more accessible to many people with opioid use disorder, they fall short of ensuring the availability of treatment to all Americans at risk of overdose death. Rural communities are mostly likely to be left out of the benefits of MOTA,” said Joudrey.

Additional researchers on the study are Christina Mair, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Pitt Public Health; Dylan Halpern, M.C.P., and Susan Paykin, M.P.P., both of the University of Chicago; Qinyun Lin, M.S., Ph.D., of the University of Gothenburg, and Marynia Kolak, M.S., M.F.A., Ph.D., of the University of Illinois.

This research was funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse grants 5K 12DA033312, L3 DA052056 and U2CDA050098.


PHOTO DETAILS: (click image for high-res version)

CREDIT: University of Pittsburgh
CAPTION: Paul Joudrey, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Pitt School of Medicine

UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login