Improving addiction treatment

Opioid abuse continues to be a widespread issue, negatively impacting people of all ages across the United States. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 6.2 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs in the previous month, and in 2016 alone, 488 opioid pain reliever-related deaths were reported in the Hoosier state.

Stopping addiction in Indiana means ensuring those who need help are provided with meaningful and effective treatment options.

One treatment option for Hoosiers battling addiction is an Office-Based Opioid Treatment (OBOT) program, many of which have recently opened in our state. While these programs can be valuable, they are lacking appropriate regulations to protect patients.

To ensure these programs are operating responsibly, this legislative session, State Sens. Erin Houchin (R-Salem) and Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso) authored Senate Bill 141, which would set common-sense regulations for OBOT programs and require doctors to outline a specific treatment agreement with the patient before starting treatment.

For example, this bill would require doctors engaged in OBOT programs to:

• Perform initial assessments before treatment begins;
• Look at the patient’s substance abuse history;
• Perform a mental health assessment;
• Drug test the patient periodically to see if they are sticking with their plan and not using other drugs;
• Check INSPECT (Indiana’s prescription monitoring system) at least four times per year during treatment;
• Test if the patient is pregnant and counsel them about the use of opioids during pregnancy; and
• Provide ongoing support therapy.

SB 141 recently passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support and will now move to the House of Representatives for consideration.

For more information on SB 141, click here.