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Content provided by Alexa Brett, Director of Client and Patient Experience.
Innovative COVID-19 response for substance use disorder patient care to support rural health access across Vermont.
COVID-19 has caused much uncertainty and anxiety for patients in our community especially around travel and viral exposure. The Aspenti Mobile Unit offers our clients an option to support their patients’ treatment plans through accessible and convenient testing services.
The Aspenti Mobile Unit follows safety guidelines to allow for the proper six foot social distancing and the highest level of infection prevention measures required by the Vermont Health Department. The mobile unit offers support at your doorstep for patients that are sheltering in place during the pandemic. Serving as an innovative solution for collection on wheels, it will make access to collections easier for patients who would otherwise struggle accessing patient centers.
Through the efforts of multiple departments, structural changes, route logistics and COVID-19 safety protocols were put into place to get the mobile unit up and running.
“The feedback for our new mobile collection solution from both patients and clients has been very positive. Patients feel comfortable with the COVID-19 safety protocols we have set in place. They like that this new option supports their recovery and is conveniently available close to home. Providers have expressed that they are thankful for this new mobile testing service which allows them to continue to follow their patients’ plan of care during the pandemic” Alexa Brett, Director of Client and Patient Experience, Aspenti Health
The Aspenti mobile Unit will be used Monday-Friday across the state of VT.
[post_title] => Aspenti Health™ launches a Mobile Unit for Urine Drug Testing Collections
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As COVID-19 continues to plague the United States, cases are documented on a state by state basis. Native Americans and Alaskans are both underrepresented in the media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and have disproportionately high cases on their sovereign lands. As of July 12, the Navajo Nation in Oaklahoma had 8,187 cases of COVID-19, 401 of which resulted in death. The Navajo Nation has the highest cases per-100 people in the United States.
The pandemic surges in these vulnerable communities at a time when they face another major health crisis, the opioid epidemic. According to the National Indian Health Board, “American Indians and Alaska Natives face opioid-related fatalities at three times the rate for Blacks and Hispanic Whites” (National Indian Health Board). The high fatality rates compared to other races can be attributed to the lack of medical care and funding on these reservations. Tribal nations are regularly excluded from public-funded health initiatives, so while a state may allocate resources to combat the epidemic, sovereign nations do not receive those resources. And while sovereign nations lack access recovery resources, they do not lack access to the drugs themselves.
According to an analysis of the Drug Enforcement Administration database, “Opioid distributors shipped an average of 57 pills per person per year to Oklahoma from 2006 to 2014. That’s far higher than the national average of 36 and just under the number of pills shipped to states in the opioid belt in and around Appalachia…At least 370 Native Americans in Oklahoma overdosed and died — with a death rate roughly equivalent to that of West Virginia” (Horwitz et al 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic presents a similar set of challenges for sovereign nations, they lack federal support from the state they reside in, despite identical challenges faced. Many lawyers across the country represent sovereign nations and demand justice for these communities both for the mistreatment throughout their challenges with the opioid epidemic and the disproportionately high cases and deaths of COVID-19. Lloyd Miller, a lawyer representing Oaklahoma tribes writes, “The opioid crisis devastated Indian country by every measure. So did lung cancer. But when the tobacco litigation was all wrapped up, not a dime was allocated to tribal governments to deal with the devastation that cancer had left behind and the addiction issues. That will not be repeated” (Horwitz et al 2020).
Find more resources about the effects of the COIVD-19 pandemic and opioid epidemic on sovereign nations below:
Hlavinka, E. (2020). COVID-19 Further Strains Care Disparities Among Native Americans. https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/86633
Horwitz, S., Cenziper, D., and Rich, S. (2020). As opioids flooded tribal lands across the U.S., overdose deaths skyrocketed. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/investigations/native-american-opioid-overdose-deaths/
Indian Health Service. (2019). Opioid Crisis Data: Understanding the Epidemic. https://www.ihs.gov/opioids/data/
National Indian Health Board. (2020). Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities. https://www.nihb.org/docs/09182017/Opioids%20One%20pager.PDF
Pinon, N. (2020). Native American communities are struggling during the pandemic. Here's how to help. https://mashable.com/article/how-to-help-native-american-communities-coronavirus/
[post_title] => When an Epidemic and Pandemic Collide: the Effects of COVID-19 and Opioid Addiction on Sovereign Nations in North America
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Health care professionals are on the front lines of an unprecedented global pandemic. Whether caring directly for COVID-19-infected individuals or managing socially-distanced patients, providers are navigating new waters and drawing upon their inner strength to serve others.
On June 10th, Aspenti Health hosted a round table webinar identifying resources and techniques to mitigate provider burnout and support well-being during these challenging times. The webinar was led by Vanessa Clark, Senior VP of Operations at Aspenti Health, Jill Warrington, MD, PhD and Chief Medical Officer at Aspenti Health. Jill is also an Assistant Professor of Pathology at UVMHN. We also hosted special guest speaker, Anya Koutras, MD and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at UVMHN.
During the webinar, the following objectives were explored:
“Burnout is an erosion of the soul caused by a deterioration of one’s values, dignity, spirit and will.”(I) Up to 50% of all providers are experiencing burnout at any given time. A survey of over 7,000 physicians reported that 1 in 50 planned to leave medicine altogether in the next 2 years, while 1 in 5 planned to reduce clinical hours over the next year(2). In that same survey, 46% of the responders reported at least one burnout symptom. In 2017, volume of medical school applications dropped by 14,000 (AAMC) with predictions of staggering physician shortage by 2030.
What are the top causes of burnout?
The practice of clinical medicine. We take care of hurt, sick, scared, dying people and their families, every day. We witness and help with the most difficult and challenging aspects of our communities.
Your specific job. Limited or even lack of resources for patients, third party interference with treatment plans, electronic health record issues, patient population quality measures and other non-direct patient care related stressors in our work weigh us down naturally.
Having a life. We don't live in bubbles and we are accountable to others (and ourselves) outside of our work. We've been trained since medical school to do this "when time allows."
The conditioning of our medical education. “The patient comes first." Many of us have not learned, seen modeled or have practiced how to FIRST take care of ourselves outside and inside of our work to do a better job of putting the patient first.
How can we mitigate burnout?
Begin the day with taking care of yourself.
Get plenty of rest, eat well, be active and engage in activities that fill you with joy.
Be kind and patient with yourself.
Be forgiving and understanding with yourself.
Be the healer to yourself before healing others.
When we learn to lead, listen, learn, let go, and love we are helping ourselves which in turn, helps patients.
“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well -intentioned words" said Rachel Naomi Remen.
References:
Content provided by Jill S. Warrington, MD, PhD. Blog edited by Alexa De Vivo.
This is part two of a two part blog series on "Care for Substance Use Disorder Populations during COVID-19". The first portion of this blog covered Digital Health Transformation and Alternative Delivery Models, click here to read part one.
Regulatory requirements and payor reimbursement practices have loosened during COVID-19. As evidenced by the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES), some of these changes are likely to be permanent and very impactful for the SUD population (7).
In terms of Population Health Adoption, we see a reinvigorated use of data for public health applications. We have data driving predictive models for hospital capacity (8), disease spread (9) and viral genome mapping to track spread and to identify targets for vaccine and drug development (10).
These points lead us to a recognition of unmet social and behavioral health needs.
With COVID-19, we have seen health disparities by race, socioeconomic status and in access to care. Studies have demonstrated that infection and death rates for COVID-19 have been substantially higher in the African American community (11). With social distancing, there is significant concern about the frequency of depression, anxiety, substance use and domestic abuse (12).
References:
(7) http://www.lincolninternational.com/perspectives/covid-19-pandemic-could-accelerate-recent-u-s-healthcare-growth-trends, [last accessed, 5/6/2020].
(8) Kent, J. 4-6-2020. Tool helps hospitals plan for critical care surges during COVID-19. Health IT Analytics. https://healthitanalytics.com/news/tool-helps-hospitals-plan-for-critical-care-surges-during-covid-19
(9) https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map, [last accessed, 5/6/2020].
(10) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/30/science/coronavirus-mutations.html, [last accessed, 5/6/2020].
(11) Yancy CW. COVID-19 and African Americans. JAMA. Published online April 15, 2020.
(12) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html, [last accessed, 5/6/2020].
[post_title] => How is COVID-19 Redefining Care Delivery for the SUD Population? Part 2 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => how-is-covid-19-redefining-care-delivery-for-the-sud-population-part-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-06-08 11:44:18 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-06-08 15:44:18 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://aspenti.com/?p=60310 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 60300 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2020-05-14 15:25:27 [post_date_gmt] => 2020-05-14 19:25:27 [post_content] =>Digital Health Transformation and Alternative Delivery Models
Part one of a two part blog series on Care for Substance Use Disorder Populations during COVID-19.
Content provided by Jill S. Warrington, MD, PhD. Blog edited by Alexa De Vivo.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented changes globally, in our communities and in health care. Like a latex balloon that has been stretched and never bounces back to its original form, health care delivery will never be the same as we navigate through and past this emergent crisis.
The silver lining in this challenging global emergency has been the ingenuity and innovation across our country and our world. We have seen remarkable collaborations, accommodations and accelerated transformations.
Changes in health care delivery have spanned five domains of medical care. We have seen a transformation of digital health, ingenious alternatives to traditional care delivery models, adjustments in regulatory and payor strategies, an adoption of a population health approach to care and an increasing recognition of our patients’ unmet social and behavioral health needs. If progress continues in each of these domains, long-existing care gaps can be obliterated.
Digital health transformation and alternative delivery models are helping to pave the way for the future of healthcare, post COVID-19. While telehealth was being offered at most healthcare establishments in the pre-COVID-19 world, the spread of mandated stay at home orders prompted telehealth across the globe.
Large health systems such as Geisinger Health System and the Cleveland Clinic have reported a 5-10-fold increase in use of telehealth services (1). We’ve also witnessed adoption of novel strategies in surveillance and triage such as the use of Chat Bots to support patient symptom identification and facial scanners in hospitals to recognize fevers (1,2). Anecdotal reporting for the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) population suggests digital health solutions have reduced numbers of missed appointments (3).
Alternative delivery models were used before the introduction of COVID-19 but many health systems sped up the process of developing take home or remote methods for medical testing.
Prior to and in response to COVID-19, laboratory services were innovating in alternative care delivery models such as at-home blood draws (4), drone use in medical product delivery (5) and at home monitoring programs (6). Further development of these types of innovations will only be aided by COVID-19.
Part two of this blog series, "How is COVID-19 Redefining Care Delivery for the SUD Population?", will discuss regulatory shifts and population health adaption. It will also go over recognition of unmet social and behavioral health needs.
References:
1) Paddy Padmanabhan, 3-27-2020, How the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping healthcare with technology, CIO. https://www.cio.com/article/3534499/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-reshaping-healthcare-with-technology.htm [last accessed, 5/5/2020].
2) Greg Nichols, 3-27-2020, Coronavirus: Business and technology in a Pandemic. Robotics. https://www.zdnet.com/article/overhead-scanners-screen-bystanders-for-signs-of-covid-19/, [last accessed, 5/5/2020].
(3) Mindy Miller, personal communication.
(4) https://www.northwell.edu/northwell-health-labs/labfly, [last accessed, 5/5/2020].
(5) Paavola A. 6 things to know about WakeMed’s drone delivery program. 2-24-2019. Becker’s Hospital Review https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/supply-chain/6-things-to-know-about-wakemed-s-drone-delivery-program.html, [last accessed, 5/5/2020].
(6) American Society of Addiction Medicine, COVID-19 Adjusting drug testing protocols. 4-29-2020. https://www.asam.org/Quality-Science/covid-19-coronavirus/adjusting-drug-testing-protocols, [last accessed, 5/5/2020].
[post_title] => How is COVID-19 Redefining Care Delivery for the SUD Population? [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => how-is-covid-19-redefining-care-delivery-for-the-sud-population [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-05-19 13:45:43 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-05-19 17:45:43 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://aspenti.com/?p=60300 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 60244 [post_author] => 5 [post_date] => 2020-01-24 14:01:35 [post_date_gmt] => 2020-01-24 19:01:35 [post_content] =>Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT; also known as Medications for Opioid Use Disorder; MOUD) is a lifeline for so many in treatment with Opioid Use Disorder. In particular, the combination product of buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone) has saved lives by preventing overdoses, reducing IV heroin-associated infectious diseases - such as HIV and Hepatitis C - and by improving patient's chance of staying in treatment.
Given the importance of buprenorphine treatment, patients at times can feel pressure to demonstrate that they are staying on the medications, even if they haven't been able to stick with the treatment plan. This can result in feelings of shame, fear of repercussions, or a desire to not disappoint their provider. As part of the disease process, patients may even be motivated by the desire to divert or sell some of their medications.
Due to these pressures, patients can occasionally engage in a practice where they "spike" the original drug directly into their urine. In this case, buprenorphine will be detected in a patient's urine, but it will not have been actually consumed. This practice will be missed on any common immunoassay-based screening method. However, if confirmation testing is ordered, both the original drug (also known as the parent drug) as well as the drug's metabolite (norbuprenophrine) will be detected.
Providers have increasingly relied upon the ratio of the metabolite norbuprenorphine to the original drug (buprenorphine), known as the N:B ratio, to identify this practice of spiking urine samples with drug. Since naloxone is also part of the Suboxone combination product, there has been some speculation that naloxone levels can also be used to highlight this practice.
Aspenti conducted a study to determine if elevated naloxone levels can be used to flag possible cases in which patients have spiked their urine with drug. Though only a small case study, this was the largest evaluation of urinary naloxone concentrations to date. We found that naloxone levels (>2000 ng/ml) may be useful clinically to flag cases of possible urine spiking with Suboxone.
To learn more about this recent study, please see the article here: https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13722-020-0178-9.
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The facility's director, Jill Warrington, MD, PhD, and Aspenti Health Chief Medical Officer, was advised of this national recognition and congratulated for the excellence of the services being provided. Aspenti Health is one of more than 8,000 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide.
"The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is the gold standard in medical laboratory accreditation. Through this rigorous inspection process, CAP has certified that Aspenti health is meeting the highest standards in quality patient care," said Warrington.
Chris Powell, CEO of Aspenti Health, upon learning of the laboratory's accreditation, said: "We have strived from day one to lead the industry in quality and innovation. The CAP certification is a wonderful milestone along our journey to deliver on our promise of exceptional science. As we continue to evolve our offering and our support of the many lives on a journey of recovery and hope CAP will provide a clear set of guiding principles that says to our clients and patients we are committed to excellence and exceptional laboratory processes."
The U.S. federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program, begun in the early 1960s, as being equal-to or more-stringent-than the government's own inspection program.
During the CAP accreditation process, designed to ensure the highest standard of care for all laboratory patients, inspectors examine the laboratory's records and quality control of procedures for the preceding two years. CAP inspectors also examine laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, facilities, safety program and record, and overall management.
About the College of American Pathologists:
As the world's largest organization of board-certified pathologists and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide.
About Aspenti Health:
Aspenti Health ™ is a healthcare company specifically designed to address population health for substance use and pain management. Through coordination of care technology, population health analytics, eLearning, and our state-of-the-art laboratory, Aspenti Health is the health engine physicians use to provide value-based, comprehensive care to optimize outcomes for their patients. For more information, please visit www.aspenti.com
SOURCE Aspenti Health
Read full release here: https://prn.to/2lhnQvM
[post_title] => Aspenti Health™ Receives Accreditation From College of American Pathologists [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aspenti-health-receives-accreditation-from-college-of-american-pathologists [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-11-05 15:47:08 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-05 20:47:08 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://aspenti.com/?p=60066 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 60055 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2019-09-06 09:08:53 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-09-06 13:08:53 [post_content] =>Aspenti Health was established by a group of seasoned healthcare leaders who made a commitment to acquire a struggling toxicology lab in Burlington Vermont, three years ago. From the initial days, their vision was to leverage crucial lab data and supplement this vital information in addiction and care recovery with value services including software, health analytics, and leading-edge education. This paradigm shift for a lab, fueled by the opioid crisis and the broader impact that substance use disorder has on communities, families and personal friends, motivated them to innovate continuously and act differently than any other toxicology lab.
Aspenti Health ™ is the first lab designed to address population health for substance use and pain management patient through diagnostic and digital health solutions.
The Dedicated Duo
Aspenti’s CEO, Chris Powell, is a dynamic personality who has over 30 years of enriched experience in healthcare. He started his career with IBM as field sales professional before moving to IDX Systems Corporation, which was acquired by GE Healthcare in 2006. There, Chris worked as the Vice President and General Manager of GE Healthcare Americas Commercial Healthcare IT business, including the United States, Canada, and Central and South America. Chris left GE in 2011 and went on to become CEO at Precyse, a Health Information management (HIM) company that led the healthcare transition to the ICD-10 coding set. Under Chris’ leadership and growth, Precyse was acquired to form nThrive, a healthcare revenue cycle and service company, before coming to Aspenti Health.
Jill Warrington MD, PhD, is the Chief Medical Officer of the company has more than two decades of experience in the medical field with a focus on laboratory medicine and substance use care. She is passionate about the role that laboratories can play in optimizing clinical decision making and supporting clinical workflows. Her key areas of interest include driving appropriate utilization of testing services, integrating health analytics to inform care, and reducing administrative burden through automatization of unnecessary operational steps.
Distinctive Services and Solutions
Aspenti Health is a unique healthcare company in the substance use disorder (SUD) space. Being specifically designed to promote population health for substance use and pain management patients, Aspenti is a state-of the art laboratory that leverages innovative methods for urine drug screening and confirmation testing with wrap-around technology and services. The company is changing the standard of care for SUD patients through Care Coordination, Population-specific Health Analytics, and Education.
Aspenti’s Care Coordination tool, Aspenti Navigator a random testing engine schedules and notifies patients for random tested based on the frequency assigned. The company’s software solution alleviates the administrative strain of managing random testing. Aspenti Insights, powered by its advanced business analytics software and data analysts provides real time health analytics to help control costs and improve outcomes.
Identifying the ability of population health analytics to support community partners and directly impact patient care, Aspenti has an internal health analytics team and a versatile custom business analytic tool. Using laboratory data, it has deep insights on emerging drug trends, treatment adherence, and the frequency of unexpected findings. Aspenti leverages strategic partnerships to gain insights into social determinants of health and align those with emerging drug trends in a meaningful way to deliver the most impactful data.
Two of its unique analytics offerings are Patient Population Metrics Report, a quarterly report for providers presenting insights into ordering patterns and emerging drug trends. Another offering is Geospatial Mapping, which is designed to give visibility to community partners on county-level drug use demonstrating marked variability in buprenorphine adherence as well as in fentanyl and heroin use.
Aspenti IQ: A Trailblazing e-Learning Facility
Aspenti Health’s innovative eLearning offering, Aspenti IQ, leverages the superlative digital learning functionality with its unique subject matter expertise. It delivers CME/CNE accredited courses in clinical best practice, protocol, compliance, patient communication, and many more mission-critical subject areas. Of all the tools available to drive better care and prevent addiction before it starts, education is the company’s most powerful factor that transcends the entire spectrum of care touching not only patients and providers, but also families and friends. All Aspenti IQ courses are mobile-friendly and CME/CNE accredited. Each represents modern learning theory by utilizing micro-learning, scenarios-based concepts and video.
Aspenti was chosen as a national partner by HealthStream, the largest Healthcare learning management platform in the country, reaching more than 4,000 healthcare organizations and hosting 4.8 million users. Aspenti will be deploying education to the front lines of care, reinforcing the quality and impact of Aspenti’s eLearning solutions with content such as “Responsible Opioid Care and Pain Management Certification”. It is a 16 course micro-certification track featuring the subject matter such as foundations, compliance, opioid misuse, and pain management.
Outstanding Client Experience
Aspenti strives hard to maintain loyalty and satisfy its customers at every level. While talking about the same, the company shares one of its memorable client experiences.
“The strength of the partnership between Aspenti Health and the University of Vermont Health Network (UVMHN) lies in the alignment of our goals to improve people’s lives. Aspenti Health’s approach is broader than just performing drug testing, by asking what it really takes on a population level to reduce the impact of substance use disorder on people’s lives. The UVMHN Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is working closely with Aspenti Health, sharing the expertise each of brings to solve this national crisis in new ways; using the UVMHN as a place to pilot innovative solutions with new testing methods, education for providers, patients and families, and data analytics to clarify barriers to individuals’ success. This is a novel addition to Vermont’s already successful hub and spoke model of care for substance use disorder. “- Debra Leonard, MD, PHD Chair, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at University of Vermont Medical Center
Abiding Core Values
Integrity is one of four core values of Aspenti along with innovation, inspiration, and inclusion. The company believes that it is the foundation of the quality and compliance programs that shapes the company. The role of integrity in the company’s operations enters into every aspect of the business model right from conducting its specimen collections and process testing for its patients and providers, to ensuring sound financial processes and compliance standards and interacting within organization and clients.
Apart from its core values, Aspenti considers the safety of its colleagues as a critical factor. Along with meeting the standards of key regulatory bodies including the New York State Department of Health, CLIA, and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the company also invites state and local regulatory organizations to voluntarily inspect its lab. Also, in direct patient interactions, the company has well-trained its colleagues on aggression de-escalation and trauma-informed care to support a safe, non-confrontational environment.
Advanced and Secured Lab Equipment
Aspenti has a state-of-the lab art laboratory designed with a LEAN, linear workflow and reliant upon sophisticated Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology. This technology has been cited as a future of laboratory chemistries and requires highly specialized technical expertise to perform. The team of Aspenti has learned from related-disciplines of environmental toxicology, sports medicine, and forensic toxicology to build this focused clinical laboratory.
View entire story here: https://bit.ly/2lEuX16
[post_title] => Aspenti Health™ Featured in Insights Care Publication [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => aspenti-health-featured-in-insights-care-publication [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2020-05-26 10:09:54 [post_modified_gmt] => 2020-05-26 14:09:54 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://aspenti.com/?p=60055 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 59991 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2019-07-25 15:34:51 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-07-25 19:34:51 [post_content] =>Language towards those with substance use disorder is a crucial part of their recovery process. The words and phrases we use frame the public perception on addiction and recovery, affecting how individuals see themselves and their ability to change. How we address those with substance use disorder can, intentionally or unintentionally, propel stigma and create a mark of disgrace, dishonor and segregates the individual from believing they can defeat their addiction.
Stigma decreases when the public perceives individuals with addiction as not being responsible for causing his/her problem and that they are unable to control it. Did you know that those with substance use disorder are perceived more negatively than those with psychiatric disabilities, although both are considered brain chemistry disorders?
By understanding that 50% of the cause of addiction is genetics, and the rest is caused by the effects from the substances on the nervous system, leading to changes in brain chemistry and function that are impaired from use without the substance being present. Addiction is technically a chronic brain disorder and while individuals affected can recover, they need to have the utmost willpower to do so. Utilizing positive reinforcement and language helps that recovery process initiate, especially coming from doctors, family members, and counselors.
The accurate and clinical terminology for someone battling addiction is a “Substance Use Disorder Patient”. Some terms that can be perceived negatively are: “drug addict”, “abuser”, “junkie”, “dope sick”, “substance abuser”.
Specifically, the use of language towards someone with substance use disorder should include the following:
Why are words so important?
In 2015, around 20.8 million Americans had an alcohol or drug use disorder. Additionally, 27.1 million people reported illicit drug use in the past month. However, 89% of those individuals estimated needed treatment did not receive any treatment services. While we cannot say this is due to stigma, if you were labeled a certain way by admitting to having an issue, would you seek out help?
It’s not on the same wavelength but think back to elementary school and the kids wearing glasses. If they were called “four eyes” on a consistent basis, did those kids choose to sit up close in class and not utilize their glasses as much? Sure they did, they didn’t want to face the stigma of not being considered “normal” by their peers.
We can work together to strike out stigma, and it starts with acceptance that addiction is not a choice. #StrikeOutStigma
Sources:
Botticelli, Michael. (2017). Changing Federal Terminology Regrading Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders
Broyles, LM. (2014). Confronting inadvertent stigma and pejorative language in addiction scholarship: a recognition and response.
[post_title] => Positive Language for Stigma Reduction [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => strike-out-stigma-language [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-10-21 16:28:06 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-10-21 20:28:06 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://aspenti.com/?p=59991 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 59975 [post_author] => 13 [post_date] => 2019-07-02 09:22:18 [post_date_gmt] => 2019-07-02 13:22:18 [post_content] =>Aspenti Health's summer campaign, "Strike Out Stigma", is focused on stigma reduction surrounding addiction.
What is stigma? Stigma is " a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person." In the sense of addiction, it can prevent those affected from getting the help they need due to the judgment they may face from those around them. Addiction is a disease, and should be treated as such in society.
Stigma surrounding addiction causes powerful and damaging negative self-esteems to the person in need of help contributing to higher rates of mental health concerns, incarceration, and even death.
The 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 21.5 million Americans age 12 and older had a substance use disorder in the previous year; however, sadly only 2.5 million received the specialized treatment they needed. While it’s not scientifically proven that these people did not get treatment because of stigma, the fact is that most insurances, housing facilities, and employment policies don’t offer help or support to those with drug addiction.
Recovery Brands asked a group in treatment for substance use addiction to say some words on what they wished society would understand about their condition (fig 1.).
Stigma hurts those being affected by isolating them. It can cause mental health ailments, self-harm, and an unwillingness to seek help or recovery treatment. Of the individuals interviewed for the piece above, most cited stigma coming from their loved ones, healthcare providers, and general society.
How can you help someone you know that has substance use disorder? Offer them compassion, avoid using hurtful language that labels them, and see them for who they really are, not just their addiction. If the person feels as though you aren’t judging them, they’re more likely to open up to you which is the first step in seeking out help. Please stay tuned for more blogs throughout this summer on stigma reduction and stats surrounding stigma against those with addiction disorder.
Sources:
Content provided by Alexa Brett, Director of Client and Patient Experience.
Innovative COVID-19 response for substance use disorder patient care to support rural health access across Vermont.
COVID-19 has caused much uncertainty and anxiety for patients in our community especially around travel and viral exposure. The Aspenti Mobile Unit offers our clients an option to support their patients’ treatment plans through accessible and convenient testing services.
The Aspenti Mobile Unit follows safety guidelines to allow for the proper six foot social distancing and the highest level of infection prevention measures required by the Vermont Health Department. The mobile unit offers support at your doorstep for patients that are sheltering in place during the pandemic. Serving as an innovative solution for collection on wheels, it will make access to collections easier for patients who would otherwise struggle accessing patient centers.
Through the efforts of multiple departments, structural changes, route logistics and COVID-19 safety protocols were put into place to get the mobile unit up and running.
“The feedback for our new mobile collection solution from both patients and clients has been very positive. Patients feel comfortable with the COVID-19 safety protocols we have set in place. They like that this new option supports their recovery and is conveniently available close to home. Providers have expressed that they are thankful for this new mobile testing service which allows them to continue to follow their patients’ plan of care during the pandemic” Alexa Brett, Director of Client and Patient Experience, Aspenti Health
The Aspenti mobile Unit will be used Monday-Friday across the state of VT.
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