Improving the quality of addiction care and our capacity to treat it

PROBLEM: Addiction treatment is fragmented from traditional health care, making it difficult and expensive to access.

SOLUTION: Integrate behavioral health services into primary care settings.

Treating addiction at “stage 1”, before it develops into a more serious and life-threatening condition, is key. Shatterproof is working with states to implement the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) for substance use disorder treatment within Medicaid. This model equips primary care physicians with the tools and resources to identify and treat addiction and has been proven to be effective at increasing access to care and improving patient health.
 

PROBLEM: In order to treat addiction, doctors are forced to jump through extra hoops. It's time-consuming, reduces access, and costs lives.

SOLUTION: Make addiction treatment part of mainstream medicine.

Addiction is an illness like any other. It’s highly treatable and many types of care are proven to be effective. To make sure every patient in need can recover, addiction treatment has got to be incorporated into mainstream medicine.

Shatterproof supports policies that would do this, including the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act (H.R. 2482/ S. 2074). This legislation will make it easier for medical providers to prescribe buprenorphine, a gold standard medication for addiction treatment, without excessive requirements that restrict access.

PROBLEM: People who overdose aren't given the same post-incident care as those with other life-threatening conditions. For example, when someone has a heart attack, they’re rushed to the ER. When they're discharged, they leave with a thorough action plan and scheduled follow-up appointments. That’s not the case with drug overdoses.

SOLUTION: Implement best practices for post-overdose care.

Shatterproof strongly supports efforts, including the Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms (POWER) Act, to develop a set of much-needed best practices for hospitals to implement when discharging patients post-overdose, including important steps like connecting the patient with a peer-support specialist, providing naloxone upon discharge, and referring the patient to treatment. 

We’re also supporting initiatives in states across the country to increase access to addiction medications. If a substance use disorder patient can receive their medications easily in their communities, rather than needing to travel to a hospital or a specialty care clinic, that greatly increases their likelihood of maintaining health and recovery after an overdose.