‘ Fear, paranoia, and pressure ’ : Challenges to Accessing Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction

Barriers to access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) threaten addiction recovery and complicate the safety of clinicians’ jobs, thereby hindering the national response to the opioid epidemic. MAT is a treatment approach that combines medications with counseling and behavioral therapies to treat substance use disorders. Medications used in MAT are FDA-approved and clinically-driven; however, several MAT access issues create obstacles to achieving its full success in mitigating the opioid epidemic. Insurance access and coverage, geography/location, treatment cost, and drug policy emerge as the most formidable pain points to accessing MATs for opioid addiction treatment. According to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, substance use disorder treatment facilities providing MAT-enhanced opioid treatment programs (OTP) can be sparse, especially in rural areas. Among the most rural U.S. counties, 55% do not have a substance use treatment facility. On a broader scale, 85% of U.S. counties have no OTP facilities that provide MAT for people diagnosed with an opioid use disorder. Increasing access will reduce overdose episodes and deaths. To achieve this, public health professionals and lawmakers need to collaborate on developing a new opioid epidemic mitigation framework rooted in more robust data, stronger interoperable communications, and better industry oversight among governments, healthcare providers, and insurers. Insurance acce...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Addiction Policy and Advocacy Psychology Psychotherapy Recovery Research Substance Abuse Treatment medication-assisted treatment opioid addiction opioid crisis Prescription Drug Addiction Source Type: blogs