Bridget Dooling Appointed to National Methadone Access and Quality Commission

Professor Bridget Dooling has joined the National Methadone Access and Quality Commission (NMAQC), a newly established initiative housed at Yale School of Medicine. The Commission seeks to improve access to methadone, an evidence-based treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder.  

Dooling joins leading experts from across the country in medicine, public health, and health care delivery on the Commission. Together, they will develop recommendations that will inform national policy, clinical practice, and public understanding. 

“Methadone saves lives, but most people who could benefit from it cannot access it,” said Dooling. “My expertise is in methadone’s regulatory thicket—a dense network of legal requirements that inhibit the use of methadone to treat opioid use disorder. It shouldn’t be this hard to save lives. I’m honored to be part of this multidisciplinary Commission because we aim to close the gap between what works and what’s available.” 

Dooling is a nationally recognized scholar on administrative law and regulatory policy who joined Ohio State after a career in the federal government at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Her co-authored research on methadone—published in the Annals of Health Law, Lancet Public Health, and Health Affairs Scholar, among other journals—includes legal analysis about extending pandemic flexibilities for opioid use disorder treatment beyond the pandemic, the range of federal regulatory barriers to methadone treatment and how they could be changed without legislative action, and analysis of studies measuring the consequences of pandemic flexibilities. Professor Dooling also served as a member of the Planning Committee for the Workshop on Methadone Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Examining Federal Regulations and Laws hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. To learn more about Professor Dooling, click here.