Understanding New Take-Home Methadone Rules
Official title: Take-home expansion: Scope and impact study (THESIS)
Funded at Friends Research Institute, INC. · NIH-11118963 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research looks at how recent changes to take-home methadone rules are affecting people receiving treatment for opioid use disorder.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Friends Research Institute, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $633,988 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA057052-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11118963 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This research focuses on patients who are currently receiving methadone treatment for opioid use disorder.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not receiving methadone or those without opioid use disorder would not directly benefit from this particular research.
What this research studies
For many years, federal rules made it difficult for patients to get take-home methadone, requiring frequent clinic visits. Recently, these rules changed to allow more flexibility, letting clinics offer more take-home doses to help reduce crowding and make treatment easier to access. This project wants to understand how these new rules are being put into practice at clinics across the country. We also want to see how these changes are impacting patient outcomes and develop ways to predict who can safely receive take-home methadone.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more flexible and accessible methadone treatment, making it easier for patients to manage their opioid use disorder.
How similar studies have gone: The recent regulatory changes are new, so this research is novel in its approach to understanding their real-world impact on patient care and outcomes.
Where this research is happening
-
Friends Research Institute, INC.
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gryczynski, Jan — Friends Research Institute, INC.
- Study coordinator: Gryczynski, Jan
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
PATHH: A patient navigation program to improve housing and health for women survivors of violence
A randomized trial tests whether a patient navigation program can help women who survived violence secure stable housing and better health care.
-
Buprenorphine options via telemedicine for people leaving jail
A patient-centered study will let adults leaving Maryland jails choose between two forms of buprenorphine, to be taken remotely with telemedicine and pharmacy support.
-
Treating polysubstance use in methadone maintenance with a digital rewards app
A study tests whether using a smartphone app to provide rewards for staying abstinent from opiates and cocaine and for picking up methadone can help people stay in treatment longer.
-
Near‑real‑time detection of suspected drug overdose deaths
This project uses information collected by coroners and medical examiners to quickly flag likely drug overdose deaths so public health teams can act faster.
-
Phone app that rewards methadone patients for staying in treatment and avoiding opioids and cocaine
A smartphone app gives rewards to people on methadone to help them stay in treatment and avoid opioid and cocaine use.
-
Patient navigation to connect people with opioid use disorder to care after hospital discharge
This program pairs hospitalized people with opioid use disorder with a patient navigator who helps them start and stay on opioid agonist treatment after leaving the hospital.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.