Curriculam vitæ of Dr Andrew Byrne
Dr Andrew Byrne is a third generation medical practitioner working in inner Sydney, Australia. He treats referred patients with problems in the drug and alcohol field.
His graduate degree is from Sydney University (MB, BS) and has a Fellowship of the Chapter of Addiction Medicine, Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FAChAM).
After 5 years residency in various positions at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Rachel Forster Hospitals, Dr Byrne commenced private general practice in Redfern in 1984.
In 1986 Dr Byrne became one of the first GPs in New South Wales to prescribe methadone for addiction. Prior to this only psychiatrists were permitted to be involved in the field. There are now over 500 such doctors in this state alone, mostly general practitioners.
Since 1986, Dr Byrne has treated over 1000 dependent patients with methadone, buprenorphine and other modalities. His nine year follow-up study was published in June 2000 in the Drug & Alcohol Review. This may be the most comprehensive longitudinal description of community treatment so far published. Numerous other peer-reviewed articles have been published under his name along with over 100 letters, commentaries and lighter 'opinion' pieces. These have appeared in many diverse publications such as the Australian Medical Journal, Addiction Research, Journal of Maintenance in the Addictions, British Medical Journal, The International Journal of Drug Policy, and the New York Times. He has also co-authored other recent papers or commentaries on methadone metabolism, hepatitis C and naltrexone implants.
Andrew Byrne has published 2 books on addictions and also co-authored a chapter with Dr Robert Newman in "Heroin Crisis" 'Methadone - many myths, but little mystery' (1999 ISBN 1 863 95321 3 Bookman Press, Melbourne).
He served on the Methadone Sub-Committee of the NSW Health Department from 1996 until 1999. He was an original contributor to the NSW Methadone Prescribers Course and remained a member of the NSW Methadone Prescribers Accreditation Committee (MPAC) until 1998. He continues to be involved in training doctors in pharmacotherapy for addictions. He was a convenor of combined APSAD (Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs) - Methadone Conference in Sydney in 2001. He has contributed to most annual APSAD conferences in some way for over a decade on a variety of topics.
Dr Byrne gave a presentation to the San Francisco Health Department regarding office-based physician methadone prescribing. He spoke at the 1998 conference at the New York Academy of Medicine regarding alternative pharmacotherapies for opiate addiction.
He has been a consultant to the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission on several sensitive dependency cases and has given expert testimony in a number of cases involving the prescribing of benzodiazepines and methadone to drug addicts. He has also acted as a medical referee for the ACT Community and Health Services Complaints Commission on several occasions.
Andrew Byrne convenes the Concord Hospital Dependency Seminars Series for GPs and other professionals every second month under the auspices of the Professional Methadone Association.
He is currently a peer-reviewer for Addiction Biology (London), Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (Melbourne) and the International Journal of Drug Policy. He also contributes to numerous internet discussion groups and web pages while also writing regular opera reviews and keeping up a keen interest in early dynastic Egyptology.
Publications
Dr Byrne has published over 200 reports, letters and commentaries in many journals, internet publications and newspapers. The following are examples of his citations:
Books:
'Methadone in the Treatment of Narcotic Addiction' 1995 ISBN 0 646 24870 7
'Addict in the Family' 1997 ISBN 0 646 29144 0
'Methadone - many myths, but little mystery' (with Dr Robert Newman) in: 'Heroin Crisis' Bookman Press, Melbourne. 1999 ISBN 1 863 95321 3
Peer reviewed articles:
Byrne A. Nine-year follow-up of 86 consecutive patients treated with methadone in general practice, Sydney, Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review (2000) 19:153-158
Byrne AJ. A practical guide for those involved in office-based methadone and other prescribing for addiction and pain management. Drug and Alcohol Review 1999;18:187-191
Byrne AJ, Wodak A. Census of patients receiving methadone treatment in a general practice. Addiction Research 1996 3:4;341-9
Byrne AJ. Use of Serum Levels for Optimising Doses in Methadone Maintenance Treatment. 1998 Journal of Maintenance in the Addictions. Vol 1 (3): 13-14.
Byrne AJ. Ten patients prescribed high dose methadone maintenance in general practice. Medical Journal of Australia 1996:165;239
Byrne A. Signs and symptoms in drug addiction. Australian Family Physician. 1995 Mar;24(3):420
Byrne A. Methadone treatment in general practice. Australian Family Physician. 1994 Sep;23(9):1806-1807
Byrne A. Benzodiazepines: the end of a dream. Australian Family Physician 1994 Aug; 23(8):1584-1585
Letters (most peer reviewed):
Byrne A, Hallinan R. HIV seroconversion. [letter] ANZ J Pub Health (2002) 26;2:182
Byrne A, Dolan K. Methadone treatment is widely accepted in prisons in New South Wales. British Medical Journal 1998 Jun 6; 316(7146):1744A
Byrne AJ. Use of dextromoramide to stabilize a heroin addict. Drug and Alcohol Review 1996; 15: 200.
Byrne AJ. Open letter to Doctors and Dentists - Pain Relief in Patients On Methadone. Aust Dent Journal 1994;39:3
Byrne A. Heroin addiction and naltrexone. Australian Family Physician. 1998 May; 27(5):344
Byrne AJ. Results of survey of New South Wales methadone prescribers. Drug and Alcohol Review. (1995) 14, 239.
Byrne A. Methadone kills more people than heroin. A reply to Newcombe. (British Journal of) Addiction 1997 Feb; 92(2): 220-221
Byrne A. Rapid intravenous detoxification in heroin addiction. 1998 British Journal of Psychiatry; 172:451
Byrne AJ. Glasgow model should be replicated in other general practices. British Medical Journal 1997 Sept 6;315:601
Byrne A. Methadone related deaths - a reply. 1997 Medical Journal of Australia 1997;167:174
Byrne AJ. Problem Drug Users. British Journal of General Practice. (1996) 46:200
Byrne A. Steroids and the mind. Medical Journal of Australia 1997;166:224
Byrne AJ. Methadone and oral hygiene. Australian Dental Journal. 1996 41;1:61
Byrne AJ. Normison Capsules. Med J Aust [letter] 1993;158:504.
Byrne A. Early Warning. Letter to the Editor, West Australian 28/5/01
Byrne A. Severe atypical sub-acute methadone withdrawal syndromes. Drug Alc Rev. 1997 16:303.
Byrne AJ. Rapid opiate detoxification under anaesthetic follow up. International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 283-284.
Byrne AJ. Methadone deaths. Reply to Caplehorn. Drug Alcohol Rev (1998)
Byrne AJ. Naltrexone (reply to Hulse & Basso). D&A Review (2000) 19:347-348
Byrne, Andrew James. Why Fight a Drug War Without Methadone? New York Times [letter] 27/4/93
Byrne, Andrew. Helping Addicts. New York Times [letter] 23/11/96
Byrne, Andrew. Handcuffed Doctors. New York Times [letter] 25/7/98
Byrne, Andrew. Pakistan Drug Menace. New York Times [letter] May 2000
More complete citations:
Byrne A, Dolan K. Methadone treatment is widely accepted in prisons in New South Wales. BMJ 1998 Jun 6; 316(7146):1744A
Byrne A, Newman R. Methadone - many myths, but little mystery. chapter in: Heroin Crisis, Bookman Press, Melbourne. ISBN 186 395 321 3
Byrne A, Newman R. Methadone - Many myths, but little mystery. In: HEROIN CRISIS - Key commentators discuss the issues and debate solutions to heroin abuse in Australia. Bookman Press, Melbourne, 1999
Byrne A. Use of Serum Levels for Optimising Doses in Methadone Maintenance Treatment (1998) Journal of Maintenance in the Addictions. 1;3:13-14
Byrne A. Benzodiazepines: the end of a dream. Aust Fam Physician 1994 Aug; 23(8):1584-1585
Byrne A. Heroin addiction and naltrexone. Aust Fam Physician. 1998 May; 27(5):344
Byrne A. Methadone kills more people than heroin. A reply to Newcombe. Addiction 1997 Feb; 92(2): 220-221
Byrne A. Methadone related deaths - a reply. 1997 Med J Aust 1997;167:174
Byrne A. Methadone treatment in general practice. Aust Fam Physician. 1994 Sep;23(9):1806-1807
Byrne A. Nine-year follow-up of 86 consecutive patients treated with methadone in general practice, Sydney, Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review (2000) 19:153-158
Byrne A. Please drop the term 'programme'! Drug Alc Rev. 1998 17:224
Byrne A. Rapid intravenous detoxification in heroin addiction. 1998 Brit J Psych;172:451
Byrne A. Severe atypical sub-acute methadone withdrawal syndromes. Drug Alc Rev. 1997 16:303.
Byrne A. Signs and symptoms in drug addiction. Aust Fam Physician. 1995 Mar;24(3):420
Byrne A. Steroids and the mind. Med J Aust 1997;166:224
Byrne AJ, Wodak A. Census of patients receiving methadone treatment in a general practice. Addiction Research 1996 3:4;341-9
Byrne AJ. Rapid opiate detoxification under anaesthetic follow up. International Journal of Drug Policy 9 (1998) 283-284.
Byrne AJ. A practical guide for those involved in office-based methadone and other prescribing for addiction and pain management. Drug Alc Review 1999;18:187-191
Byrne AJ. Addict in the Family. Tosca Press (Sydney) 1997
Byrne AJ. Glasgow model should be replicated in other general practices. BMJ 1997 Sept 6;315:602
Byrne AJ. Methadone and oral hygiene. Australian Dental Journal. 1996 41;1:61
Byrne AJ. Methadone deaths. Reply to Caplehorn. Drug Alcohol Rev (1998)
Byrne AJ. Methadone in the Treatment of Narcotic Addiction. Tosca Press 1995.
Byrne AJ. Normison Capsules. Med J Aust [letter] 1993;158:504.
Byrne AJ. Open letter to Doctors and Dentists - Pain Relief in Patients On Methadone. [letter] Aust Dent Journal 1994;39:3
Byrne AJ. Problem Drug Users. British Journal of General Practice. March 1996 46:200
Byrne AJ. Profile of a methadone treatment service in general practice. Proceedings of National Methadone Conference, November 1994.
Byrne AJ. Results of survey of New South Wales methadone prescribers. [letter] Drug Alc Rev. (1995) 14, 239.
Byrne AJ. SMH (letter) Reply to Maresch.
Byrne AJ. Survey of methadone treatment policies in 53 community pharmacies in Sydney. unpublished report (March 1998)
Byrne AJ. Ten patients prescribed high dose methadone maintenance in general practice. Med J Aust 1996:165;239 [doses up to 350mg daily]
Byrne AJ. Use of dextromoramide to stabilize a heroin addict. Drug and Alcohol Review 1996; 15: 200.
Byrne, Andrew James. Why Fight a Drug War Without Methadone? New York Times [letter] 27/4/93
Byrne, Andrew. Handcuffer Doctors. New York Times [letter] 25/7/98
Byrne, Andrew. Helping Addicts. New York Times [letter] 23/11/96
Byrne, Andrew. Pakistan Drug Menace. New York Times [letter] May 2000
Byrne A. Naltrexone. Drug and Alcohol Review (2000) 19 (3): 347
Byrne AJ. Naltrexone (reply to Hulse & Basso). D&A Review (2000) 19:347-348
Byrne A. Modified rapture over benzos - not so safe after all! BMJ (28 March 2001) Rapid Response.
Byrne A. "Safety of benzodiazepines" not supported by data on hip fractures. BMJ (26 March 2001) Rapid Response.
Byrne A. Re: Rebuttal of methadone licensing: a distraction from 'best practice'. Electronic Response 5/4/01
Research criticism, A Byrne Briefing JAMA/Lancet drug law reform, pain management, prescribed drug abuse, etc.
Byrne A. Early Warning. Letter to the Editor, West Australian 28/5/01
Recognition and Treatment of Benzodiazepine Dependence, Andrew Byrne (originally from Medical Observer 25 July 1997)
Byrne AJ. Standard of care in Britain was not addressed. BMJ (2001) 323: 512
Byrne AJ. Takeaway shop converts to drug centre. BMJ 2001;323:532 (8 September)
Byrne A. Don't forget methadone for chronic pain. BMJ 2001;323:571
Byrne A. Book review. Addiction Research and Theory (2001) 9;2:179-181. Community treatment of drug misuse: more than methadone. Nicholas Seivewright. Cambridge University Press. 2000 ISBN 0 521 66562 0
Conferences and Seminars Attended
The Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders. New York Academy of Medicine May 2000.
First National Methadone Conference, University of NSW 1987 (?)
NSW Institute of Psychiatry. Prescribed certificate course in drug and alcohol studies. 1991. Rozelle, NSW
International Harm Reduction Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, 1994
2nd European THS (Toxicomanie, hepatites, SIDA) Congress, Cannes, France, November 1995. Paper presented in French and English.
APSAD Annual Conference, November 1996. Paper on follow-up patients delivered in absentio by Associate Professor Andrea Mant
Annual APSAD Conference, Adelaide, October 1997
Opioid Overdose Symposium, Intercontinental Hotel, Sydney, 1997
Alternative Pharmacotherapies Conference, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, September 1998. Paper presented on Sydney practice.
Annual APSAD Conference, Sydney, November 1998. [Chaired session and presented paper.]
Annual APSAD Conference, November 1999, Canberra, ACT. Paper presented on methadone patients.
APSAD Annual Scientific Meeting, Wesley Centre, Sydney, NSW, October 2001. Co-convenor and presented two papers.
APSAD Annual Scientific Meeting, Fremantle, WA, November 2004. Presented three abstracts.
APSAD Annual Scientific Meeting, Melbourne, Vic, November 2005.
Take-away Forum. Sydney Millennium Hotel,
AATOD Meeting, Washington DC
New School University
AATOD Meeting Atlanta April 2006
