Maintenance therapy
August 17, 2023
Treatment of drug dependence by prescription of a substitute drug for which cross-dependence and cross-tolerance exist. The term is sometimes in reference to a less hazardous form of the same drug used in the treatment. The goals of maintenance therapy are to eliminate or reduce use of a particular substance, especially if it is illegal, or to reduce harm from a particular method of administration, the attendant dangers to health (e.g. from needle sharing) and the socialconsequences.