Carbon County jail leaders question MAT rollout and use of Vivitrol grant

Carbon County jail inspectors and county officials said they will review the jail's medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program after weeks of concern that the county's Vivitrol grant and the PrimeCare contract were not being implemented as the board understood.

Inspections board members and the jail's medical contractor discussed the program at length on the record, raising three central concerns: whether an SOP (standard operating procedure) documenting which MAT options will be offered exists, why many inmates are receiving buprenorphine (pills commonly known as Suboxone/Subutex) rather than injectable antagonists such as Vivitrol, and whether grant funds earmarked for injectable medications are being spent or are available for reimbursement.

The board said it approved a proposal in late June that described injectable treatment options; several members said they believed the program funded by the grant would primarily use injections such as Vivitrol. The county's reimbursement grant for Vivitrol was cited at $111,000 during the meeting, and officials asked whether that money is being spent given that most patients have chosen oral buprenorphine while…