Alleva, a company dedicated to providing world-class software to the behavioral health industry, today announced a significant addition to its seed round of funding.
According to the latest Pew Research study, nearly half of all Americans have a family member or close friend struggling with a Substance Use Disorder, or SUD. Addiction strikes hard, and it is blind to race, age, or political affiliation. Among every demographic, death by overdose is on the rise, affecting over 7.4 million Americans, with the opioid epidemic at the center of it all.
The facts:
- Heroin-related overdose deaths have increased by 600% from 2002 to 2015.
- Of 64,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016:
- Over 20,000 were caused by synthetic opioids.
- Over 15,000 were related to heroin.
- Over 14,000 were related to natural and semi-synthetic opioids (such as hydrocodone and buprenorphine)
- Drug abuse and SUDs are estimated to cost society $442 billion annually.
While the causes of this massive opioid epidemic are complex, the solutions are clear. According to the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs and Health, the most effective interventions are carried out on a community level. Cross-sector community coalitions can assess and respond to specific local needs. Additionally, the report calls for integration of a full spectrum of treatment modalities to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans in the years to come.
The number of laws in place to discourage illicit drug abuse have only increased with time. However, despite the array of anti-drug laws put in place for its prevention, Illicit drug use in the United States has been increasing rather than decreasing
The expected decrease in drug abuse associated with the creation of more laws and anti-drug related institutions has not proven to be certain. In reality, drug abuse has continued to increase despite the implementation of these new systems. This is not to suggest that the establishment of institutions in any way causing an increase in drug abuse; rather that it has been unsuccessful in achieving its primary purpose of diminishing such abuse.
Never has the attempt to stop the consumption of illegal substances been made more official as during the prohibition. Although the prohibited substance in that time was alcohol rather than opiates and narcotics like we see modernly, the lesson learned is entirely applicable. The institutional opposition was so official that it was even included as an amendment in the constitution, which is more powerful and binding than any law. Even with the political strength that uniquely the constitution can bring, the best estimates are that the consumption of alcohol only declined by thirty to fifty percent during the prohibition.
Half, and potentially seventy percent of the designed sobriety was unsuccessful even when backed by arguably the most powerful political document in this nation. However, this bleak statistic does not suggest that the problem is unconquerable. Rather, it suggests that fifty to seventy percent of progress towards a drug-free society will not be achieved by the creation and enforcement of anti-drug laws.
Innovators, like Johann Hari, help us understand better those who struggle with addiction and helps us challenge our preconceived ideas on the criminalization of drug use. He helps us ask the hard questions. What is addiction? How does addiction happen? How can we help those who struggle from addiction to achieve recovery? And he gives us surprising solutions as he makes striking statements like, "the opposite of addiction is connection".
The term "opioid epidemic” is in the news almost hourly. We hear tragic stories of lives destroyed by addiction. Some states are notorious for a specific type of drug use- think Montana with meth, or California with cocaine. But a recent WalletHub report published the drug use statistics on every state, ranked by “overall drug problem”, drug use and addiction, law enforcement and drug health issues and rehab.
Where does your state rank? The answers may surprise you.
Source: WalletHub
Here are the top 10 states in terms of the overall drug problem:
- District of Columbia
- Vermont
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Rhode Island
- Oregon
- Connecticut
- Arizona
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
Colorado also ranked #1 in teen AND adult drug users, while Alabama made a name for themselves as having the most opioid prescriptions per 100 citizens. West Virginia has the most overdose deaths per capita, and South Dakota has the most drug arrests per capita.
If you were surprised (like we were!), there's more to learn and more to do.
Our one-of-a-kind EMR software is taking off and we couldn’t be more excited to share the news. Our super-cool first press release was published earlier this week. “We knew we could make a difference in the realm of addiction recovery simply by improving communication between therapists, clients and families,” said co-founder Matt Stevens when interviewed for the press release.
Our HIPAA-compliant secure video conferencing, treatment plans, client app, and other unique features make our EMR the best on the market.
We want to thank our team members in our San Clemente and Provo offices for their hard work, creativity, and stunning good looks. We also want to thank our beta customers: Acqua Recovery, Miramar Recovery Center and Solara Mental Health for jumping on board and letting us be part of their teams.
We’re excited to see what’s next!
Patient brokers are an emerging plague on the field of addiction recovery. They have several different names: patient brokers, treatment brokers, and perhaps the most chilling, body brokers. These brokers make fees by referring to treatment centers who pay them for the referrals.
Often, the families are also charged for the service. In other cases, where families aren’t involved, brokers pull people off the streets, offering to help them get help. They make between $100 and $5,00 per transaction, or more accurately, per human sold.
While that process may in and of itself seem harmless- a middle man who makes a living by helping struggling individuals get into treatment. But the field of addiction recovery, a rapidly growing $35 billion industry, is particularly vulnerable to predatory capitalization.
By the time treatment is being sought, the patient is sick, physically, mentally, emotionally. Families are desperate, willing to do whatever they can to help their struggling loved one. This is an especially vulnerable point for everyone involved. Treatment brokers often target young drug users, those who are inexperienced with the process of entering rehab.
So what do addicted individuals and their families need to be aware of?
- Unsolicited contact from strangers offering the opportunity to go to treatment
- Offers to go to treatment out of state, particularly without paying airfare.
- Directives on how to behave or to maintain contact with the individual while in treatment
- Recommendations for treatment centers that don’t quite fit needs (ex. a program that focuses on certain types of drug use or trauma that don’t apply)
- “Scholarships” offered for treatment
While each of these events may not be hard evidence of treatment brokering, they are definitely warning signs. Treatment centers can help our industry to overcome this problem by disseminating this information.
Addicts were once thought of as being, in the words of Red Hot Chili Peppers' lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis, "Under the Bridge." However, the recent opioid epidemic and the search for recovery has changed all of that.
Jamison Monroe Jr., founder of the Newport Academy rehab center, said that the recent epidemic has changed this stereotype. She asserted that addiction no longer "discriminate[s] based on demographics, […]income brackets or zip code[s]."
To help combat this new epidemic, some people have turned to technology-- specifically the kind that you hold in your hand. Recovering addict Sam Frons, creator of Addicaid, believes the support system of her app may be a game changer. Addicaid puts individuals into groups based on their shared tendencies, rather than their addictions. It also creates a personalized recovery program formulated by the information users give during their initial intake, accounting for their personality and triggers.
The app combines machine learning, adaptive artificial intelligence, and clinical research to predict situations where users might be at risk of relapse, and then it intervenes. The support system enables users with shared tendencies to reach out during those "trigger moments."
If you'd like to learn more about our addiction recovery software, you can click here to get a free demo or fill out the form below.
A study published by the Journal of Applied Psychology, as discussed in a previous post, not only discusses the importance of diverse social outcomes, but also the role of social self-identity, and self-efficacy in recovery. The study indicates improved self-efficacy among those who identify themselves as “in recovery” as opposed to those who identify as “addicts.”
Self-efficacy is defined as an individual’s belief in their own ability to be successful at a given task. In the journey of recovery from substance use disorders, self-efficacy is a foundational ingredient. Individuals will not successfully find recovery if they don’t believe that they can get sober.
People who identify as “in recovery” have greater self-efficacy as compared to those who identify as “addict” or “alcoholic.” So why do Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step fellowships place such great emphasis on members self-identifying by their greatest vice?
The answer lies in humility, one of the cardinal virtues of Alcoholics Anonymous. Interestingly enough, many of the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have the aim of producing or encouraging humility. Humility is considered a cardinal virtue in the twelve steps because it allows for a thorough self-examination. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions goes into further detail on the role of humility in recovery:
“Indeed, the attainment of humility is the foundation principle of each of A.A.’s Twelve Steps. For without some degree of humility, no alcoholic can stay sober at all. Nearly all A.A.’s have found, too, that unless they develop much more of this precious quality than may be required just for sobriety, they still haven’t much chance of becoming truly happy. Without it, they cannot live to much useful purpose, or, in adversity, be able to summon the faith that can meet any emergency.” (p. 70)
And while humility may seem antithetical to self-efficacy, exploring the way humility is defined in the social sciences allows for a more harmonious coexistence of the two principles. Humility is defined operationally, with this set of two over-arching traits: an accurate view of ones-self while also being other-oriented rather than self-focused. In that sense, maybe self-identifying as an addict doesn’t engender humility at all, because doesn’t the identity of “recovery” yield a more accurate self-view? Shouldn’t it?
Encouraging clients to identify as being “in recovery” can have a positive influence on the culture and success of treatment centers, but also on the lives of the individuals they serve. Building humility in recovery allows people to thoroughly examine their weaknesses, to highlight and overcome them. Building self-efficacy in recovery allows people to thoroughly examine their strengths, to highlight and expand them. Recovery programs need to foster both virtues.
Many are calling addiction an epidemic in the United States and for good reason. Last year, nearly 10% of the US population used illicit drugs, while binge drinking affected nearly 15%. In 2015, 35,000 people died of an opioid overdose. These numbers can be scary but the Utah Department of Health is taking aim to reduce and eventually eliminate this problem. The Utah Opidemic is of particular concern. They have declared the opioid problem in Utah an “Opidemic” and launched a campaign to promote awareness and resources for those struggling with addiction.
Their website, opidemic.org, explains the serious consequences of opioid use, provides resources to find treatment, illustrates what to do if someone you know has an overdose, and provides hopeful messages from those who are overcoming their own addictions. These helpful tips offer suggestions on what to do to take action and support this initiative in your communities. While the treatment centers listed on the website are located in Utah, the information is useful for anyone who is struggling or knows someone who is. 
Read here to learn more about the opioid epidemic.
If you need a new EHR for your addiction recovery or substance abuse treatment practice then you can schedule a free demo here or fill out the form below.
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Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2019 - Alleva Corp. All Rights Reserved.