Table 1.

Interview data of the factors influencing patient drop-outs from OST program with selected quotes to support themes

Themes	Selected quotes
Financial burden	“All of the money before was coming from crime and they were able to pay hundreds of dollars for heroin. When patients come on methadone they usually don’t have a lot of resources… all would be in debt… credit card debt, debt to drug dealer, debt to family/friends, and ordinary sorts of debt”. (IP8)
Relapse	“…patients may not be able to go to the movies or take partner out for dinner because that would mean that next week they won’t be able to afford their dose… bored sitting at home, not able to go out to gym or yoga or movies… left with the option of sitting at home and watching TV. This leads to relapse because they have nothing else to do”. (IP1)
Lack of support	“ …people are put on the program without sufficient support and go on without being aware that it is a long term thing” (IP2)
Insufficient take-away doses - eg. mine workers	“I think that patients should be able to get more take away doses… be able to self-manage” (IP1)
Pharmacy discrimination	“They are treated differently to the other customers. It happens all the time” (IP3).
Limiting daily life	“… can be debilitating to be on the program… I travel interstate a lot for work- if the organisation was not aware of my position I could have not held that position down” (IP2)
	“liquid handcuffs” (IP2)
Inadequate preparation	The length of the program … “may not be entirely understood by the consumer as it may be less important in that moment” (IP1).
	“knee jerk reaction – thinking CPOP is going to be the silver bullet for all their problems” (IP2).
Rural location	“If someone gets a job up north- may not take the job due to not being able to dose up there” (IP7)