Heroin assisted treatment, or
diamorphine assisted treatment, refers to the prescribing of synthetic, injectable
heroin to
opiate addicts who do not benefit from or cannot tolerate treatment with one of the established drugs used in
opiate replacement therapy like
methadone or
buprenorphine (brand name Suboxone). For this group of patients, heroin assisted treatment has proven superior in improving their social and health situation. It has also been shown to save money, as it significantly reduces costs incurred by trials, incarceration, health interventions and . It has also drastically reduced overdose deaths in the countries utilizing it, as patients take their dose in a controlled, professionally supervised setting, and Narcan (
naloxone) is on hand in the case of an accidental overdose. Opiate related overdoses in the U.S. kill around 20,000 people per year.