Latest news with #APNC
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A new consensus on substance use disorders and healthcare
(Photo:) New polling from the Legal Action Center shows North Carolinians nearly universally (98%) view substance use disorders (SUD) as a problem deserving of attention. More than two-thirds know someone impacted by SUD, and the data shows robust support – across political and demographic lines – for a health-first approach to the issue. North Carolinians support expanding access to the full spectrum of evidence-based SUD treatment, including medications and eliminating SUD-based discrimination. Leaders in North Carolina's executive and legislative branches can take heart in this emerging consensus of support for their efforts to combat the state's overdose epidemic. Fortunately, Governor Josh Stein and First Lady Anna Stein both support access to evidence-based treatment and ending the stigma that interferes with the delivery of treatment. Additionally, State Representative Timothy Reeder and State Senator Jim Burgin recently held a press conference with the Addiction Professionals of NC (APNC) to announce the NC Treatment Connection website, aimed at ensuring all SUD treatment providers in the state use evidence-based models. These efforts are essential since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranks North Carolina in the top 15 states with the highest fatal overdose rates. According to the state's Department of Health and Human Services, 2023 (the most current year of data) marks NC's highest rate of fatal overdose since 2010, with an estimated 4,442 deaths. That's 12 deaths per day, more than double the rate of fatalities from vehicle crashes that year. For opioid use disorder, the most evidence-based form of treatment uses either methadone or buprenorphine, two of the three medications approved by the FDA for treatment of this disorder. The third, naltrexone, has much less robust evidence of efficacy. Buprenorphine and methadone are effective at treating opioid withdrawal and cravings for opioids. These two medications for opioid disorder (MOUD), in repeated studies, show a reduction in overdose death rates of at least two-fold. If a medication showed such a reduction in death when used to treat any other chronic condition, failing to provide that medication would be malpractice. Yet MOUD is often prohibited in settings such as drug courts, skilled nursing facilities, and even in residential SUD treatment programs. These stigmatizing practices lead to unnecessary deaths. We must eliminate MOUD- and SUD- based discrimination in all settings, especially healthcare settings. The stigma some medical professionals hold towards people with SUD can lead to dangerous results. Studies have shown clinicians can miss important diagnoses or deny care when they harbor preconceived ideas about patients. Inadequate treatment of withdrawal symptoms causes patients to leave against medical advice or avoid medical care completely. Verbal and nonverbal communication of disdain or judgment from medical providers intensifies the shame already felt by patients with SUD and harms the therapeutic relationship. Even at facilities treating SUD, some providers carry negative attitudes towards life-saving buprenorphine and methadone. The people of North Carolina also have reasons for optimism. In 2024, North Carolina experienced a five-year low of 12,447 emergency department visits due to overdose. The availability of naloxone, now free at many jails, health departments, and harm reduction sites, and the use of mobile OUD treatment clinics to reach people in areas that previously lacked access has contributed to this positive trend. Clearly, there's much more work to be done. North Carolina's widespread support for strategies that prioritize treatment over punishment signals a prime opportunity for action. NC leaders should build on their efforts in three key ways: Ensure emergency departments, primary care providers, jails, recovery courts, and SUD treatment programs all provide – or act as conduits to – evidence-based treatment. Expand the SUD treatment workforce Ensure public funds, including opioid settlement money, only support programs that provide access to evidence-based treatment. Overwhelming public support for a health-first approach, the leadership of policymakers committed to change, and the availability of lifesaving interventions bring the overdose crisis within our reach for positive change. By investing in treatment, harm reduction, and policies that promote recovery and combat discrimination, North Carolina can save lives and create a robust healthcare system that treats all people with dignity and respect. There is consensus, and the path forward is clear. Let us act with urgency.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Addiction professionals, lawmakers announce NC treatment connection campaign
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — There is a new campaign to help those battling addiction receive proper care. Wednesday, Addiction Professionals of North Carolina (APNC) and several state lawmakers announced the launch of NC Treatment Connection. The new campaign is developed from the passage of the Stop Addiction Fraud Ethics Act, also known as the S.A.F.E Act of 2023. 'That made patient brokering a Class G felony, it made it illegal; however, not everybody knows what I mean when I say patient brokering and that's the point of this campaign,' said Sara Howe, CEO of APNC Howe says patient brokering occurs more often than you think and that's why this law was passed. 'What will happen is that bad actors will show up at an AA meeting, an NA meeting, they will befriend somebody and then they will help them to relapse, and then provide them what they believe is a treatment center that they will send them to,' said Howe. 'Often the patient broker will get a kickback for that, they will get a bounty for that person, but the treatment center isn't a good quality, ethical treatment center.' She and others say this new campaign will help those facing addiction find trusted resources. 'Substance abuse disorders are a crisis. It claims the lives of 12 North Carolinians every day,' said Rep. Timothy Reeder. 'It costs $6.8 billion annually with healthcare costs, and this impact is the cost but the devastation on the families is really what we worry about.' APNC Outreach Director, Michael Roberts says a campaign like this is needed. He's been sober for nine years. 'I'm alive because there's programs that exist to help people like me, programs that didn't pay me to relapse,' said Roberts. 'We're making people know so that when someone reached out for help they get the right kind.' You can find more information on the NC Treatment Connection here Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawmakers, advocates launch initiative targeting predatory practices in addiction treatment
North Carolina is launching a statewide campaign to combat predatory practices in addiction treatment to help people struggling with substance use disorders find evidence-based treatment facilities. The 'North Carolina Treatment Connection' initiative is a joint effort between Addiction Professionals of North Carolina, the state legislature, the Department of Human Services and 700 treatment providers to address exploitation in the industry. 'We are creating a trusted resource to connect individuals to ethical, effective treatment providers in their communities,' said Sarah Howe, CEO of APNC. The campaign aims to address issues of misinformation and exploitation that have long plagued the addiction treatment industry. It comes on the heels of the state's 2023 enactment of the SAFE Act, which targeted patient brokering and other deceptive practices. Patient brokering is the illegal practice of paying or receiving kickbacks for referring patients to addiction treatment facilities. 'Bad actors are taking advantage of people when they're at their lowest, and we can't allow that anymore,' said Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett, Lee, Sampson) a primary sponsor of the SAFE Act, during a press conference Wednesday morning. Michael Roberts, who is in long-term recovery, described being steered to fraudulent clinics: 'Patient brokering nearly cost me my life. It's a form of human trafficking.' While the 2023 SAFE Act made patient brokering a Class G felony, enforcement of the law remains a challenge. 'We need to make sure that those investigations happen around the state,' said Reeder (R- Pitt County). 'We need to make sure that if you see something, you say something.' It's unclear how widespread patient brokering is. Howe said patient brokers are often 'underground' and 'pop up a little bit like Whack a Mole.' She said her organization has already started working with the state Department of Justice on investigations in areas where they know the illegal practice exists. Sen. Burgin suggested the state should also look at developing a rating or evaluation system for treatment providers, similar to how North Carolina rates child care facilities, with APNC serving as a 'trusted resource' to help govern and oversee the process. More than 1.3 million North Carolinians struggle with substance use disorders, with about 4,000 overdose deaths annually. 'This is a turning point,' Howe said. 'We are building a future where no one has to search beyond our own state for quality treatment, where communities are empowered with knowledge and where individuals in recovery have the support they need to reclaim their lives. '
