Fears for 1,800 patients after Victorian methadone provider closes

Clinic will shut its doors on Friday leaving more than 10% of the state's methadone users without treatment

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The closure of a Melbourne general practice on Friday will leave more than 10% of Victorian methadone users without treatment in what health experts say is symptomatic of the state's broken" pharmacotherapy system.

Pharmacotherapy is recognised by the World Health Organization as an essential treatment for opioid dependency, replacing the drug of dependence with a legally prescribed substitute, such as methadone or buprenorphine.

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