Research Interests

Dr. Schwartz is an addiction psychiatrist and former director of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.  His research interests include entry and engagement in drug abuse treatment, pharmacotherapy of opioid dependence, and health services research.  He is principal investigator of a National Institute on Drug Abuse funded study examining personal, community and program factors impacting upon drug abuse treatment entry and is co-investigator on several other NIDA-funded studies.  These include studies of methadone treatment as a re-entry strategy for heroin dependent prisoners, buprenorphine for re-entering prisoners in Puerto Rico and role induction as a means of engaging newly admitted patients treated with buprenorphine.  Dr. Schwartz serves as a co-investigator on the Mid-Atlantic Clinical Trials Network, is a member of the NIDA-F services research Initial Review Group and a member of the NIDA Division of Epidemiology Services and Prevention Research Data and Safety Monitoring Board.

Selected Publications

Schwartz, R. P., Highfield, D. A., Jaffe, J. H., Callaman, J. M., O’Grady, K. E. (in press) A randomized controlled trial of interim methadone maintenance: 10 month follow-up. Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Schwartz, R. P., Highfield, D. A., Jaffe, J. H., Brady, J. V., Butler, C. A., Rouse, C. O., Callaman, J. M., O’Grady, K. E., & Battjes, R. J. (2006). A randomized controlled trial of interim methadone maintenance. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 102-109.

King, V. L., Kidorf, M. S., Stoller, K. B., Schwartz, R., Kolodner, K., & Brooner, R. K. (2006). A 12-month controlled trial of methadone medical maintenance integrated into an adaptive treatment model. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 31(4), 385-93.

Katz, E., Brown, B., Schwartz, R. P., & Weintraub, E. (2005). Cognitive Ability as a Factor in Engagement in Drug Abuse Treatment. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 31(3), 359-69.

Kinlock, T. W., Schwartz, R. P., & Gordon, M. S. (2005, May/June). The significance of interagency collaboration in developing opioid agonist programs for prisoners. Corrections Compendium, 30(3), 6-30.

Kinlock, T. W., Battjes, R. J., Schwartz, R. P. & MTC Project Team. (2005). A novel opioid maintenance program for prisoners: Report of post-release outcomes. American Journal of Drug Alcohol Abuse, 31(3), 433-54.

Loughlin, A., Schwartz, R. P., & Strathdee, S. A. (2004). Prevalence and correlates of HCV infection among methadone maintenance attendees. International Journal of Drug Policy, 15, 93- 101.

Katz, E., Brown, B., Schwartz, R. P., & Weintraub, E. (2004). Role induction: A method for enhancing early retention in outpatient drug-free treatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 227-234.

Kuo, I., Brady, J., Butler, C., Schwartz, R., Brooner, R., Vlahov, D., & Strathdee, S. (2003). Feasibility of a Drug Treatment Program using LAAM for Drug Users Referred from a Needle Exchange Program. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 24, 67-74.

Johnson, J. L., Wiechelt, S. A., Schwartz, R., & Ahmed, A. (2003). Outcomes for substance abuse treatment in women: Results from the Baltimore City Treatment Evaluation Study. Journal of Substance Use and Misuse, 8, 1807-29.

Kinlock, T. W., Battjes, R. J., & Schwartz, R. P. (2002). A novel opioid maintenance program for prisoners: Preliminary findings. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 22, 141-147.

DiPaula, B., Schwartz, R. P., & Montoya, I. D. (2002). Heroin detoxification with buprenorphine on an inpatient psychiatric hospital unit. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 23, 163-169.

King, V. L., Stoller, K. B., Hayes, M., Umbricht, A., Curran, M., Kidorf, F. S., Carter, J. A., Schwartz, R. P., & Brooner, R. K. (2002). A multicenter randomized evaluation of methadone medical maintenance. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 65, 137-148.

Weintraub, E., Dixon, L., Delahanty J, Schwartz, R., Johnson, J., Cohen, A., & Klecz, M. (2001). Reason for medical hospitalization among adult alcohol and drug abusers. American Journal on Addictions, 10, 167-77.

Schwartz, R. P., Montoya, I. D., Brooner, R. K., Currens, M., & Hayes, M. (1999). A 12-year follow-up of a medical maintenance program. American Journal on Addictions, 8, 293-299.

Aszalos, R., McDuff, D. R., Weintraub, E., Montoya, I., & Schwartz, R. P. (1999). Engaging hospitalized heroin-dependent patients into substance abuse treatment. Journal on Substance Abuse Treatment, 17, 149-158.

Schwartz, R., Johnson, J. L., McDuff, D. R., Tiegel, S., & Bell, L. (1995). Evaluation of Addictions Training for Psychiatric Residents. Substance Abuse, 16, 1-8.

Schwartz, R., White, R. K., McDuff, D. R., & Johnson, J. L. (1995). Four Years Experience of a Hospital's Impaired Physician Committee. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 14, 1321.

Schwartz, R., & Lehman, A. F. (1995). Overview of treatment principles. In A. F. Lehman & L. D. Dixon (Eds. ), Double jeopardy: Chronic mental illness and substance use disorders. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers.

McDuff, D., Schwartz, R., Tommasello, A., Tiegel, S., Donovan, T., & Johnson, J. (1993). Preliminary report outpatient benzodiazepine detoxification procedure for methadone patients. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 10, 297-302.

Lehman, A. F., Herron J., Schwartz, R., & Myers, C. P. (1993). Rehabilitation for young adults with severe mental illness and substance use disorders: A clinical trial. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 181, 86-90.