The addiction industry is changing at a rapid rate, especially with the national opioid crisis. For the second year in a row the centers for disease control lowered the average life expectancy for U.S. citizens, due in large part to the number of overdose deaths from opioids. Here are trending topics to be aware of in addiction treatment.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
MAT is the use of FDA- approved medications to provide treatment of substance use disorders in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies. Two commonly used medications are buprenorphine and naltrexone. As an abstinence based recovery center, Cumberland Heights prefers the use of naltrexone for a set period of time – usually a year – and then to transition patients off.
Ethics in the Treatment Industry
Due to the national opioid crisis the treatment industry has become a lucrative market for many private investors. So much so practices surrounding the recruitment of patients online have become more than suspect. To combat this Google recently stopped showing all AdWords for search terms like “drug addiction” and “alcohol treatment.”
Cumberland Heights CEO Jay Crosson sits on the ethics committee formed by the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) to draft ethics requirements for treatment providers. NAATP hopes the new ethics guidelines will help patients and their families make better decisions when assessing and choosing a treatment provider.
The Cumberland Heights board of directors recently adopted a Code of Ethics. You can read about our deep commitment to the ethical implementation of addiction treatment and the principles we follow below.
At Cumberland Heights we are members of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, accredited by the Joint Commission and licensed by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
As a promise to the people we serve, Cumberland Heights implements the following ethical practices:
- Our marketing efforts are based on awareness and engagement. We believe education is more valuable than fear. We use original content and never participate in predatory web practices. Our alumni have become our number one referral source because we provide quality care to our patients and continually cultivate relationships with them.
- In an effort to provide the best care possible, our goal is to thoroughly assess patients and their families as soon as possible. We employ exclusionary criteria to ensure our treatment program will meet the needs of entering patients. If a need is outside our scope of clinical excellence, we will help patients be placed in a reputable program suitable for their situation. We do not purchase or sell patient referrals.
- Relationships matter. We believe the entire family benefits from participation in the recovery process. There is no cost to our family program. We encourage all family members to get the education and support they need to begin recovery from addiction.
- We are transparent with our financial arrangements. We do not employ hidden fees. Our pricing is posted on our website. Our financial advisors are available to discuss out of pocket costs and estimates based on length of stay. Our financial forms are explicit. We refund any overpayments back to those who paid them and do not assess any admission or non-refundable deposits. You get what you pay for.
- Fiscal responsibility. To our donors we pledge to be good stewards with their gifts, applying them to their intended purposes. As a nonprofit, we are audited annually by outside certified public accountants and are subject to rigorous board oversight.
- Safe and loving environment. We strive to provide a quiet serene environment for recovery to take root. Our food is excellent and the various campuses are clean and well maintained. We treat patients and families with dignity and respect.
- The ultimate act of trust is when a clinician or referent asks us to provide care for their client. We will endeavor to collaborate with them to provide what is in the patient’s best interest throughout the continuum of treatment.
- We seek to hire the best people who are committed to our mission of recovery. Our clinicians also adhere to professional codes of ethics. We are not perfect. We try to take care of each other in order to provide better care for the people we serve, but if patients or their families have concerns we employ a Quality Management team built to monitor and improve our services. They may be contacted by calling (615) 314-3856 or emailing qm@cumberlandheights.org.
- We are committed to providing lifetime recovery opportunities to patients who complete our program. Patients are invited to a peer support aftercare group. We offer fellowship opportunities through our alumni services office. We have hundreds come back home to our annual staff and alumni picnic as well as monthly alumni activities.
- We are committed to abstinence based recovery. Recovery Care Advocates meet with patients during treatment and follow-up with them during the first year after discharge to guide their journey of recovery.
Again, we are committed to creating an environment where the people we serve can depend on us for the best treatment possible. Because we hope to strengthen our industry’s standard for treatment, Cumberland Heights has also adopted the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers Code of Ethics.
