This was first published in National Council, a publication of the National Council for Behavioral Health http://www.thenationalcouncil.org/consulting-best-practices/magazine/
Sam knew he was out of second chances when he checked into the clinic. He had already graduated from four 30-day inpatient programs, and every time he swore he'd never go back. Every time, the need for drugs outweighed his good intentions. He was in the chronic cycle of rehabilitation and relapse that is all too familiar to many people with addictions.
With the right combination of intensive outpatient, medication and recovery supports, Sam broke the cycle and remains drug-free and living in recovery. But he'll never forget the sense of failure and hopelessness he felt.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that nearly three-quarters of people like Sam will experience these setbacks or "relapses" after treatment.
No one expects someone with a chronic disease like diabetes to stay in a hospital for 30 days and come out cured. Yet that's how we have treated people with another chronic condition - addictions to drugs or alcohol. You have no doubt seen the data on the impact addictions have on this country. As many as 25 million Americans are thought to have an addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the disease costs $700 billion annually in treatment costs, crime and lost productivity.
And it costs us in lives. Deaths from heroin overdose alone jumped fivefold between 2001 and 2013. Yet only a tenth or so of those 25 million people get any help.
Companies owned by large investors aiming for big returns are stampeding into this gap now that the Affordable Care Act ensures that more Americans have health insurance that pays for addiction treatment.
However, many of these firms are investing in the outmoded model of a month of residential rehab with little follow-up.
In short, this was never a simple problem ... and new players mean it's only going to get more complex.
No Quick Cure
In the 19th-century, we solved the problem of the town drunkard by putting him or her in the stocks. Until recently, most towns of any size still had a "drunk tank" in their jail; a bare tile room where the inebriated "slept it off."
Now science has taught us that addiction is a disease, like diabetes or hypertension. It can kill its victims slowly and painfully and affects everyone around the sick person - family, friends and colleagues.
Things are finally changing for the better and National Council members are leading the way.
Member organizations have embraced the science, delivering interventions in an array of community settings with far better outcomes than a one-shot stay in rehab. More and more we understand that the solution isn't easy or quick.
Take medications, recovery coaches and technology.
Medications offer hope that patients in early recovery can get relief from what are often overwhelming cravings, and National Council members were among the first organizations to embrace medication-assisted therapies. Barriers to access are gradually being eliminated and pharmacological interventions are increasingly viewed as critical to a patient's management plan.
"Recovery coach is an oldish phrase with a new twist," said Tom Moroney of Bloomberg News. "They're counselors, cheerleaders, scolds, and they just might represent the best weapon yet against killer opiates, especially heroin and its seductive cousin, Oxycontin."
Recovery coaches connect people in recovery to the services that will help keep them away from alcohol or other drugs. They help with finding medical care, getting into school or reestablishing family connections, providing long-term solutions that are more effective than simply "graduating" them from a hospital bed in rehab.
In addition to recovery coaches and medications, technology will play an increasingly prominent role in the successful treatment of addictions.
Technology solutions are transforming almost all aspects of our lives - think Uber, Amazon Prime and Airbnb. Now health care is the darling of tech companies.
Tele-psychiatry programs bring addiction treatment into mainstream medicine, including primary care offices, improving access to services currently in short supply. Smartphone apps that offer group discussion and crisis response give patients "real time" support. Online assessments, appointments and treatment bring services to patients where and when they prefer. Electronic medical reco
Sam knew he was out of second chances when he checked into the clinic. He had already graduated from four 30-day inpatient programs, and every time he swore he'd never go back. Every time, the need for drugs outweighed his good intentions. He was in the chronic cycle of rehabilitation and relapse that is all too familiar to many people with addictions.
With the right combination of intensive outpatient, medication and recovery supports, Sam broke the cycle and remains drug-free and living in recovery. But he'll never forget the sense of failure and hopelessness he felt.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that nearly three-quarters of people like Sam will experience these setbacks or "relapses" after treatment.
No one expects someone with a chronic disease like diabetes to stay in a hospital for 30 days and come out cured. Yet that's how we have treated people with another chronic condition - addictions to drugs or alcohol. You have no doubt seen the data on the impact addictions have on this country. As many as 25 million Americans are thought to have an addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the disease costs $700 billion annually in treatment costs, crime and lost productivity.
And it costs us in lives. Deaths from heroin overdose alone jumped fivefold between 2001 and 2013. Yet only a tenth or so of those 25 million people get any help.
Companies owned by large investors aiming for big returns are stampeding into this gap now that the Affordable Care Act ensures that more Americans have health insurance that pays for addiction treatment.
However, many of these firms are investing in the outmoded model of a month of residential rehab with little follow-up.
In short, this was never a simple problem ... and new players mean it's only going to get more complex.
No Quick Cure
In the 19th-century, we solved the problem of the town drunkard by putting him or her in the stocks. Until recently, most towns of any size still had a "drunk tank" in their jail; a bare tile room where the inebriated "slept it off."
Now science has taught us that addiction is a disease, like diabetes or hypertension. It can kill its victims slowly and painfully and affects everyone around the sick person - family, friends and colleagues.
Things are finally changing for the better and National Council members are leading the way.
Member organizations have embraced the science, delivering interventions in an array of community settings with far better outcomes than a one-shot stay in rehab. More and more we understand that the solution isn't easy or quick.
Take medications, recovery coaches and technology.
Medications offer hope that patients in early recovery can get relief from what are often overwhelming cravings, and National Council members were among the first organizations to embrace medication-assisted therapies. Barriers to access are gradually being eliminated and pharmacological interventions are increasingly viewed as critical to a patient's management plan.
"Recovery coach is an oldish phrase with a new twist," said Tom Moroney of Bloomberg News. "They're counselors, cheerleaders, scolds, and they just might represent the best weapon yet against killer opiates, especially heroin and its seductive cousin, Oxycontin."
Recovery coaches connect people in recovery to the services that will help keep them away from alcohol or other drugs. They help with finding medical care, getting into school or reestablishing family connections, providing long-term solutions that are more effective than simply "graduating" them from a hospital bed in rehab.
In addition to recovery coaches and medications, technology will play an increasingly prominent role in the successful treatment of addictions.
Technology solutions are transforming almost all aspects of our lives - think Uber, Amazon Prime and Airbnb. Now health care is the darling of tech companies.
Tele-psychiatry programs bring addiction treatment into mainstream medicine, including primary care offices, improving access to services currently in short supply. Smartphone apps that offer group discussion and crisis response give patients "real time" support. Online assessments, appointments and treatment bring services to patients where and when they prefer. Electronic medical reco
