In 2018 a group of researchers posed as 30-year old Heroin users and attempted to secure appointments with hundreds of recovery facilities via telephone in a study to expose gaps in recovery treatment.

Results of the study found that a large percentage of phone numbers listed on government websites were non-working, and with the percentage of phone numbers that did work – came new challenges.

“I found it surprising how many calls I had to make before being offered an appointment.”

Graduate student/Study participant – Tamara Beetham.

Researchers were denied appointments much of the time, and often had to call 4 or 5 facilities before finally being offered an appointment. Once an appointment was secured, researchers also faced high fees for medications, visits, and lab work.

Bridging The Gap In 2021

It’s no secret that these same issues still exist in 2021. Finding treatment is difficult, and many facilities are working to change this.

“We know that emergencies don’t happen during business hours, which is why we created a 24/hr booking service for our patients. No phone call necessary, that way we get them seen as soon as possible.”

– CEO Tele Med Clinix.

Imagine making 4-5 phone calls just to make a doctors appointment. Most of us would be incredibly frustrated by the fifth call, and some would give up by the fourth call. Making these phone calls as someone who suffers with SUD (substance use disorder) is even harder.

Family members and loved ones know that the window of opportunity to get someone into treatment is small. Those with SUD often have intense anxiety surrounding treatment. With each hurdle the individual faces, they fall further and further from continuing to seek treatment.

Knowing Where to Start

It’s important to make sure that you contact the right kind of facility when seeking treatment. Each facility is designed to serve a different level of care depending where someone is in their recovery journey.

Here are the different levels of care:

• Level I: Outpatient services – The outpatient level of care takes place in a non-residential setting, so clients can live at home while participating in treatment.
  
• Level II: Intensive outpatient/partial hospitalization services – Like outpatient, intensive outpatient programs (IOP) occur in non-residential settings. IOP consists of more treatment hours per week than outpatient. IOP may be ideal for clients who have complex symptoms or co-occurring disorders but don’t need inpatient treatment. Partial hospitalization programs (PHP) are 20 or more hours per week and are designed for complex substance use disorders or co-occurring disorders that do not require 24-hour care. These may also be referred to as day programs as they are usually up to 6 hours per day.

• Level III: Residential/inpatient services – clients live on-site, meaning they have 24-hour supervision or care. Program length can vary and is dependent on individuals’ needs, but it is usually between 30 to 90 days. Typically, days are scheduled with activities, therapy, and medical care, leaving minimal free time. Inpatient care is often for clients who have completed medical detox and no longer require medical stabilization.

• Level IV: Medically managed intensive inpatient services (Detox) – is for people with severe substance use disorders who require medical stabilization. In most cases, clients are experiencing withdrawal symptoms due to dependency. They receive 24-hour medical care, medications, and counseling at this level of care.

Ideally, a patient would start at a level four facility, and eventually work towards a level one facility.

How We Can Help

If you or a loved one is in need of level one, outpatient services – we are standing by, ready to help. Tele Med Clinix specializes in MAT (medically assisted treatment) and Addiction Psych services, via Tele-health. Meaning you can see our providers from the comfort of home.

Call us today at (321) 209-4040 or Book any time online here.