Opioid maintenance in European prisons: is the treatment gap closing?

Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) is effective in prison, as it is in the community. Of 30 European countries, 24 sanction prison OMT, but only eight provide coverage that matches average EU community levels. It is important to challenge negative perceptions of prison OMT and promote equivalence of care and continuity of treatment. The systematic review by Hedrich et al. in this issue [1] concludes that opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) is an effective treatment option for opioid-dependent prisoners that offers benefits similar to those reported in community settings