Prescribing services for drug misuse.

Effective drug treatment involves a spectrum of care – from counselling and detoxification, to prescribed medication and aftercare – depending on the needs of a particular client. Prescribing medication is an important element of many drug treatment programmes. The National Treatment Agency (NTA) established a prescribing expert group to advise the Agency on its approach and work programme on prescribing. The group consists of substance misuse specialists, general practitioners, psychiatrists, nurses and treatment service users. This briefing has been developed by the group and lead authors are identified for each section