How to improve opioid substitution therapy implementation

In order to discuss the situation of quality, accessibility and coverage of opioid substitution therapy (OST) in Europe, as well as the need for a practical document, the WHO Regional Office for Europe convened a workshop in Vilnius, Lithuania during 22-23 May 2012 on how to scale-up and implement opioid substitution therapy. Representatives from selected EU Member States (Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal,and Romania), partner organizations (EMCDDA, Executive Agency for Health and Consumers) and observers (Council of Europe, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) participated in the workshop.

The organization of the workshop was carried out as part of a joint action with the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC) entitled "Scaling up access to high quality harm reduction treatment and care for injecting drug users in the European Region (Harm Reduction)" under Grant Agreement 2008 52 02 Work Package 5 Opioid Substitution Therapy.