Saturday, December 21, 2013

Florida is not alone, apparently Tennessee see my post on the bottom of this one.

Government Behaving Badly: Tennessee does it Again
janaburson at Janaburson's Blog - 6 days ago

I just read Tennessee’s new law regulating the treatment of opioid addiction with buprenorphine in office-based practices, due to take effect July 1, 2014. I repeatedly criticize Tennessee’s policies on addiction treatment, but they keep doing weird and counterproductive things, so I must blog about them. I don’t even blog about every little stupid thing […]

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Florida Medicaid not paying for Suboxone Bupernorphine?


 




Am being told by patients in Miami and South Florida that Medicaid is no longer paying for Suboxone  Treatment. I was told by Dr. Jeffery Kamlet told me that this was so, but I do not have the details if this for all patients or is this just an issue that one needs prior authority.

It it so that Florida Medicaid is refusing to pay for doctor and medication. Please leave me a post and/or write me to my email.  WorsetreatmentIhad@gmail.com

The only information I have found so far is this application for prior approval
http://ahca.myflorida.com/medicaid/Prescribed_Drug/pharm_thera/paforms/suboxone_subutex.pdf

I think there maybe a violation and perhaps the ACLU maybe interested in looking at it. or some
other attonies.

All I am getting from the internet is the usual list of doctors in Florida,

I have a strong impression of the healthcare management program that you most obtains approval for Suboxone and other similar medication maybe strong bias toward patients seeking maintains with Suboxone. People in Mental Health are not well known for reading research.

There is too much outright prejudice, and discrimination toward these types of patients.  Just because they are license does not mean they are protecting patients.

Please contact me at worsetreatmentihad@gmail.com

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Methadone Patients get bad stigma again.

This comes from Substance Matter by Dr. Mark Willinbring. M
http://mattsub.blogspot.com/2013/12/mmt-and-12-step-groups-stigma-persists.html

Sunday, December 8, 2013

MMT and 12-Step Groups: Stigma Persists

In his latest contribution to the academic literature, William L. White and colleagues turn their focus on 12-Step participation among patients in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Rates of self-reported Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) attendance were very high; however, participants frequently reported that their MMT status prevented them from taking part in many of the "key ingredients" of the groups that most members take for granted. When asked about the experience, nearly half of all respondents who had attended NA or AA reported that they had "received negative comments about methadone use" and nearly "a quarter (24.4%) reported having had a serious problem within NA or AA related to their status as a methadone patient."

The following table from the report details the "frequency with which respondents faced particular challenges":

Table 4: NA and AA Responses to MMT Patient Status                                NA            AA

Response to MM Patient Status:                                                                         (n=228)     (n=142)

Received negative comments about methadone use                                                43.0%     45.1%

Were pressured to reduce the dose of methadone                                                  21.9%     23.2%

Were pressured to stop taking methadone                                                             32.9%     34.5%

Were denied the right to speak at a meeting because of being
in methadone treatment                                                                                         14.5%      14.1%

Were denied the right to become a sponsor because of being                                  8.8%        9.9%
in methadone treatment


White and colleagues implemented this small study at not-for-profit opioid treatment program (OTP) in the Northeastern US. A total of 322 respondents answered a 53-question survey about their participation in recovery support groups. Of the 322, 259 (80.4%) reported a primary affiliation with a recovery support group. Of these, 88.8% reported it to be in some way a 12-Step group. Importantly, 66% of respondents reported past-year NA/AA participation, with 88-89% reporting the group was "helpful".

Despite these figures, the authors found MMT patients had low rates of participation in the "key ingredients" that seem to be critical influencers of long-term recovery outcomes: having a home group (50%), having a sponsor (26%), sponsoring others (13%), attending 12-Step social events (23%), and active step work (21%).

Anecdotally, we see a lot of patients at Alltyr who have a hard time finding a place in the local 12-Step scene. We even began compiling a list of medication-friendly meetings in the Twin Cities as we learned about them, but the stigma associated with maintenance is still prevalent. Could it be that we are on the verge of another breakthrough in medication acceptance? After all, there was a time when you weren't considered "sober" if you were on antidepressant or antipsychotic medications (but now, as Dr W likes to say, you're more likely to be referred to the psychiatrist by your sponsor than by anyone else). We would be interested to hear reader stories about this experience - or opinions on the topic. Are things changing - or not?

See the full paper by White, et al., here: http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/2013%20Co-participation%20in%2012-Step%20Groups%20and%20Methadone%20Maintenance.pdf

Her is a few things I have been copying from other sites but is worthwhile information. Gaia Vasiliver-Shamis, Ph.D If your phone's so smart, why isn't it doing science for you? Great tips for turning your toy into a tool! Gaia Vasiliver-Shamis, Ph.D Scientific Program Manager at NIH/ NIAMS 5 Killer Ways to Use Your Smartphone for Science - Scizzle Blog myscizzle.com Go from procrastination to productivity with these great ways to use your smartphone for...




Gaia Vasiliver-Shamis, Ph.D
Go from procrastination to productivity with these great ways to use your smartphone for...