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Opioid Epidemic Has Addicts, Doctors, Looking Anew at Medication-Assisted Treatments

(Image: Shutterstock.com)

In the search for solutions to Ohio's heroin and prescription pain pill addiction epidemic, many public health officials are talking about boosting access to treatment programs that use medication to help an addict kick the habit.  These methods include methadone, which has been around for decades, buprenophine, called Suboxone, and the newest tool in the addiction treatment toolkit, naltrexone, or Vivitrol.  Vivitrol, in particular, has many recovering addicts and the people who treat them saying it may be the best answer yet to preventing replace.  Morning Edition host Amy Eddings speaks with ideastream's health care reporter, Marlene Harris-Taylor, about medication-assisted treatment, how it works, and why there's such a buzz about Vivitrol.  She's been working on a story about Vivitrol for the ongoing "Be Well" series on opioids.

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