Beyond one-size-fits-all: Latent patient classes at methadone treatment entry and their clinical implications - Evidence from a large real-world cohort.

These findings provide empirical grounds for moving beyond uniform methadone treatment models toward stratified, needs-based protocols.

Concrete policy changes, including formalised penitentiary-to-community care continuity, revision of dose-setting criteria for justice-referred patients, and maternal-informed treatment pathways that address the specific psychiatric and social vulnerabilities of women with caregiving responsibilities, could substantially reduce attrition across the profiles with the greatest clinical complexity.