Upcoming Events on Addiction Medicine

Launch of National Drug Substitution Therapy (NDST) and Guidelines and Register

• Date: Saturday, 25 November 2006
• Venue: Sultan Ballroom, Le Meridien Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Organised by:

Federation of Private Medical Practitioners? Associations Malaysia
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Addiction Medicine Association of Malaysia

Background Information

With current scientific evidence of substance addiction as a chronic and often relapsing medical disorder, the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations of Malaysia (FPMPAM) introduced its first continuing medical education program in addiction medicine in 2001.

Following the successful launch of its ?Doctors Who Care? program a year later, Drug Substitution Therapy (DST) for the management of opioid addiction was established in outpatient general practice clinics and specialist centers nationwide, with the strong involvement of the private healthcare sector.

There are currently 300 medical practices enlisted with the program, providing substance addiction treatment to more than 10,000 patients.

In 2005, the need for a formalised National Drug Substitution Therapy (NDST) Guidelines and Register was mooted to cope with the rising demand for addiction treatment and provide a professionally regulated socio-medical framework for the effective provision of DST.

As such, the NDST Working Committee was formed, consisting of a panel of qualified medical professionals in their respective fields and senior officials from the Ministry of Health.

The Committee?s mandate was to propose steps to improve the quality of existing DST programs and to tighten regulatory control of the medications being prescribed for addiction treatment.

The Committee?s recommendations culminated in the formulation of the NDST Guidelines and Register. The NDST Registry which is primarily geared towards the private sector will also have features that will interface the government?s MyDST program.

The NDST Guidelines cover the entire DST process, from the clinical pharmacology of the medications and commencement of DST to complications, prescribing and dispensing issues.

The NDST Register is a real-time web-based monitoring system that will contain up-to-date information on prescribers and medical practitioners as well as patients undergoing DST in outpatient clinics in the country.

It has inbuilt security features that will ensure confidentially and security of all information and has been designed to prevent doctor-hopping as well as the abuse of prescription medications.

It will also be used to oversee the development of DST and serve as a critical tool for clinical research in this field.