The American journal of psychiatry
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Day treatment versus enhanced standard methadone services for opioid-dependent patients: a comparison of clinical efficacy and cost.
This study examined the differential efficacy and relative costs of two intensities of adjunctive psychosocial services--a day treatment program and enhanced standard care--for the treatment of opioid-dependent patients maintained on methadone hydrochloride. ⋯ Providing an intensive day treatment program to unemployed, inner-city methadone patients was not cost-effective relative to a program of enhanced methadone maintenance services, which produced comparable outcomes at less than half the cost.
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As physician-assisted suicide is debated, a need for standardized measurement of desire for death among medically ill individuals has emerged. The authors present preliminary validation data for a new self-report instrument, the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death. ⋯ These results indicate that the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death is a reliable, valid measure of desire for death among patients with HIV/AIDS. Further research with this measure may help address many of the unanswered questions emerging from the ongoing debates regarding legalization of assisted suicide.