These recommendations have been prepared by the Expert Group on the basis of the Report of the Evaluation of the Suboxone Feasibility Study 2011 conducted by Create Consultancy and also, having regard to the following national and international reports:
• The 2010 HSE report ‘The Introduction of the Opioid Treatment Protocol’
• The 2002 NACD report ‘Use of buprenorphine as an intervention in the treatment of opiate dependency syndrome’.
• The 2007 National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics report ‘Economic Evaluation of Suboxone for the management of opiate addiction’.
• The 2007 UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines ‘Methadone and buprenorphine for the management of opioid dependence’.

These recommendations apply to the use of medicinal products containing buprenorphine / naloxone, or buprenorphine-only where appropriate, which have been authorised for use in the treatment of opioid dependence. It is not intended that the content of these recommendations would apply to the use of buprenorphine products for the treatment of pain and other indications.