Methadone maintenance treatment can be provided in a primary care setting without increasing methadone-related mortality: the Sheffield experience 1997-2000.

Methadone maintenance treatment has been shown in many studies to reduce mortality and morbidity among heroin users. However, there has been concern that widespread methadone prescribing will lead conversely to an increase in methadone-related deaths. This study in Sheffield shows no increase in methadone-related mortality over a two-year period, during which 400 untreated patients were recruited into primary care methadone treatment in the city.