No obvious effect on mortality from a patient choice reform expanding access to opioid disorder treatment – results from a natural experiment of policy change in Sweden | National Safer Supply Community of Practice

Original research

Håkansson, Anders, Sahar Janfada-Baloo & Jonas Berge

Release Date

2023

Geography

Sweden

Language of Resource

English

Full Text Available

Yes

Open Access / OK to Reproduce

Yes

Peer Reviewed

Yes

Objective

The present study examines the longitudinal effects of a regional patient choice reform which substantially increased availability to opioid maintenance treatment in one Swedish county, starting from 2014.

Findings/Key points

The present study does not demonstrate any significant difference in the development of overdose mortality in the county where this reform substantially expanded treatment access, compared to other counties in the country.

Design/methods

The present study follows overdose deaths through 2021, and compares the intervention county to the remaining parts in the country, using death certificate statistics from the national causes of death register.

doi.org

Keywords

Mortality

Policy/Regulatory

Substitution/OAT