Time spent by patients in using services at Methadone clinic before and after the clinic being integration into ARV outpatient clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, 2013 – 2015

Abstract

      Aims: To measure the time spent by patients for waiting and receiving services at Methadone clinic before and after the clinic integration into ARV outpatient clinic. Methods: A cross–sectional study design and direct observation of patients visiting Methadone clinics in district 6 and Binh Thanh district during two phases: phase 1 – before integration (from September, 2013 backwards) and phase 2 – after integration (from October, 2014 onwards). The total number of observed patients was 160 before integration and 163 after integration. Results: In general, compared between two phases, the time spent by all patients in receiving services and waiting at Methadone clinics has increased slightly. There was particularly dramatic rise in the Induction phase patient group (from 2 minutes 40 seconds in phase 1 to 10 minutes per patient in phase 2). However, the waiting time in the Initiation dosing

patient group has dropped by almost 50% compared to phase 1. Conclusions: The shift to integrated clinic model does not really affect the time spent by the patient in receiving services at Methadone clinics. There should be close supervision and review of drug reaction monitoring procedure for patients with Initiation dosing.