I have been receiving phone calls from some of the treatment centers I refer to, letting me know they are about quality care and not making revenue. I was happy to hear this messaging, but I didn’t know what sparked it. I then listened to the New York Times podcast “The Daily” cover a story about a chain of prominent national treatment centers and charges of murder brought by the State of California. ( https://apple.co/2rIkjsL )
In short, this podcast details how a small substance use treatment center for indigent patients in the South became a corporation comprised of a number of facilities across the country, publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In the setting of their rapid expansion and a number of patient deaths, the podcast brings into question their ability to serve medically complicated patients and the for-profit model of treatment.
Because of the opioid crisis, we have entered a moment when approaches to addiction are radically shifting. For decades legal interventions have been overused to address substance use disorders. Because of the magnitude and populations affected by this epidemic, we are seeing a shift from a model of punishment and law enforcement to health-based treatments and education. As a field, addiction medicine is evolving through expansion of the workforce as well as new technologies and medications for the treatment of substance use disorders.
These advancements in the field are concurrently happening with a rapid expansion of business interest in substance use treatment. I am overjoyed that I am having more reasonable advocacy conversations with bipartisan leadership and have new medical strategies to treat the disease of addiction in the last few years. While I am excited about these changes, I am concerned that recovery is becoming an “industry.”
I fell in love with recovery at a young age, because it can change people and their families physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, financially and legally more drastically and rapidly than any other process I have witnessed. When beautiful transformations become commodified and marketed, because the opioid epidemic is “good for business,” it breaks my heart.
At Whole & Healthy You, we are about patients and not profitmaking. We also treat patients with evidence based, ethical solutions for the chronic disease of addiction. When considering treatment for yourself or someone you love, there are some questions you should be asking of the folks you trust your care to.
• What model of treatment do you use?
• What are the different interventions that will be used?
• What is the neuroscience or “brain science” that you base your interventions on?
• What is the experience your practice/facility has in treating ____ (your specific health issues)?
• What is the level of medical oversight?
• What will the means and frequency of communication be with me or my loved one’s team?
• Who can I speak with if my health or communication needs are not being met?
This is not an exhaustive list, but it can be a start to some important conversations for the people you choose to support you through the vulnerable time of entering treatment. While deciding to stop alcohol and drug use is often a time of crisis, it is also a time to have important conversations about what services one is signing up for and setting expectations about the care you are seeking.
For further guidance on how to choose what treatment is right for you or someone you love, please do not hesitate to make an appointment.
