Deaths and broken lives from drug overdoses

In today's edition of The New York Times, Odyssey House President Dr. Peter Provetcomments on a recent article ("Drug Overdoses Propel Rise in Mortality Rates of Whites," front page, Jan. 17) on the rising death rates for young white adults, driven by the opioid epidemic.

Deaths and Broken Lives from Drug Overdoses To the Editor:   The dramatic increase in drug overdose deaths is not new to drug treatment. For several years treatment providers have been racing to save the lives of young Americans addicted to opioids as what started as a surge in prescription drug abuse morphed into a full-blown opioid epidemic. It is also not news that intensive residential and outpatient treatment services are in short supply, and what resources are available in many parts of the country are often prohibitively expensive for the vulnerable populations who need them the most. That today's vulnerable addicts now include growing numbers of young white Americans highlights the tragedy of opioid addiction as a great equalizer. Decades of experience treating young people from inner-city communities ravaged by drugs has shown us that recovery is a multistep, time-consuming process that, for the fortunate ones who are helped quickly enough, starts with overdose-prevention injections and detox, and continues with medically assisted treatment, behavior therapy and continuing community-based support. Anything less just doesn't work and is merely a Band-Aid that will inevitably lead to the loss of more young lives - tragically, lives we know how to save.   PETER PROVET President and Chief Executive Odyssey House

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The year ahead

Experts' Contributions: “Hopes and Fears” 2016

Leaders in the field of drug treatment share their predictions for 2016 and the challenges ahead. See Dr. Provet’s below. Click here for the full report.

         

The escalating opioid epidemic among middle-class Americans drew unusual attention last year to our field across a wide public sphere of elected officials, leaders of medical and scientific communities, members of criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, and the mainstream media.

While this attention is welcome, we need to make sure the urgent need for treatment is reflected in the stabilization and expansion of services for vulnerable populations. As states (including New York, with high-need, disadvantaged populations) look to contain costs under Medicaid managed care, we must work hard to ensure that the federal block grant is maintained, the IMD [Institutions for Mental Diseases] exclusion is eliminated and parity under the ACA [Affordable Care Act] is fully enforced. Without these essential provisions built in to federal and state budgets and policies, nonprofit organizations that provide the bulk of safety net services will find it harder and harder to meet the increased demands for care.

At Odyssey House, we have been preparing for the impact of managed care for quite some time and have established new systems to both contain costs and streamline care. These include: electronic health record keeping and linkages with hospital and other community-based providers; evidence-based practices and medication-assisted treatment; and extended outpatient and housing support services.

My hope as we look to 2016 is that we will not only continue to provide quality care for disadvantaged substance abusers (who often require intensive residential services in order to have a chance at achieving and maintaining a functional life), but that their needs will be reflected in the ongoing national debate on how best to treat addiction and its accompanying social ills.

Peter Provet, Ph.D.

President & Chief Executive Officer