Although it is difficult to find information, especially current information, on the average length of stay Kaiser Foundation Health Plans will authorize for residential addiction treatment, there are some clues to be found in one 2018 report produced by the state of Oregon.
Mastering The ASAM Criteria for Addiction Treatment is More Important Than Ever Before
Whether you refer to it as the “Six Dimensions,” The ASAM Criteria or simply a “biopsychosocial,” the ASAM Criteria has come to dominate the landscape of multidimensional assessment in the addiction treatment community.
Creating a Patient Centered Substance Abuse Treatment Plan
Contingency Management is Coming. Is Your Addiction Treatment Center Ready?
Contingency Management is a treatment modality that intermittently rewards clean time and program participation with cash or prizes. While some have moral objections to “paying an addict to get sober,” others point to the fact that, unlike a lot of treatments for meth, cocaine and stimulant abuse, Contingency Management (CM) actually works.
Stop Keeping Bed Availability at Your Addiction Treatment Center a Secret - Set up Automatic Updates Today
When Will Staff and Patients at Your Addiction Treatment Center Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Here's What We Know.
Addiction treatment centers suffer greatly under the COVID-19 pandemic at a time when the United States needs more addiction treatment than ever before. When will staff and residents be able to access their first (and second) doses of the COVID-19 vaccine?
Kick Your Addiction Treatment Center's Bad Debt to The Curb
How is Your Addiction Treatment Center Preparing for a Post-COVID World?
COVID-19 has created a perfect storm in the addiction treatment world. It seems these days we are being hammered from all sides: economic uncertainty, political (and policy) uncertainty and, of course, uncertainty about the course of the novel coronavirus itself. While all studies being done currently point to a massive surge in substance abuse in the United States, overall admissions in treatment are down as social isolation and concerns about safety erect new barriers to treatment. Some surveys are finding that 64% of addiction treatment centers are currently reporting revenue losses directly tied to the pandemic.
We’ve written extensively here about what you can do at your addiction treatment center to address the pandemic from a public health and economic health perspective. Certainly many readers are preoccupied with the day-to-day of responding to the crisis at hand as it continues to evolve.
It’s hard to think outside of this moment, but, as businesspeople, it’s important that we try.
Ask yourself: what happens next? What happens after COVID-19 is finally “over” (or at least more managed) and life no longer revolves around mitigating the risks associated with this virus?
What is your addiction treatment center doing to prepare for the post-COVID world?
Today, we’ll look at 4 things that appear to be on the horizon for the addiction treatment community and give you suggestions on what your organization might begin to do to prepare for what comes next.
Addiction Treatment Post-COVID Reality #1: Telehealth Is Here to Stay
In the wake of the pandemic, the vast majority of our readers have shifted their addiction treatment centers to rely heavily on telehealth services. Many of you are still offering in-person services, of course, and in some instances that level of care is absolutely necessary. But for those patients where telehealth is appropriate, it makes sense to improve social distancing for staff and patients by keeping unnecessary visits down.
The US Department of Health and Human Services renewed their COVID-19 emergency declaration for a third time last month, extending changed Medicare and Medicaid rules that allow for the reimbursement of telehealth services for members of those programs. Private insurers have also shifted to embracing telehealth coverage for patients during the pandemic.
Within the addiction treatment community, the migration to telehealth happened quickly in response to the pandemic, despite an historic resistance to pivoting away from face-to-face care. Despite concerns, most addiction treatment centers have seen no decrease in productivity or program effectiveness. Many have reported a marked decrease in no-shows.
It is reasonable to expect the trend towards telehealth to continue after COVID-19 as patients and providers gain a level of comfort with the modality.
If your facility is struggling with telehealth delivery, now is the time to address that problem. Be sure that your addiction treatment center is set up with the best EHR to handle the job.
Addiction Treatment Post-COVID Reality #2: National Trauma and Delayed Care Means a Tsunami of SUD Patients
It doesn’t take an addiction treatment professional to know that the national stress and trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic - as well as the economic and political stress that goes along with it - will cause more people to turn to drugs of abuse than ever before. Research is already proving that rates of addiction are skyrocketing in response to the difficulties we are all experiencing right now. What’s more, people in recovery are finding themselves relapsing as the routines and support structures they rely on are compromised by the pandemic.
It’s clear that we can expect a huge wave of addiction treatment patients in the near-future.
For addiction treatment centers, that means planning for a huge influx of patients at a time when cash flow is slowing to a trickle. It’s an impossible position.
What low-cost improvements can your organization make right now to help prepare for that eventual bump in admissions? When making new hires and acquiring new properties is out of the question, focus on tightening up what you already have. Updating your software is a great way to improve efficiency and productivity without investing too much capital.
Addiction Treatment Post-COVID Reality #3: Demand for MAT WIll be at an All-Time High
As restrictions around Suboxone and Methadone have loosened, patients are proving that they can handle the responsibility of take-home medications, despite the risks of diversion and abuse. Now that MAT patients - and providers - are growing accustomed to skipping the frequent (if not daily) in-clinic visits, it will be very difficult to go back to the older, more strict MAT rules. It seems likely that this is the “new normal” when it comes to MAT. With the rules relaxed and barriers removed, it makes sense that more patients will flock to these evidence-based medicines to help with their opioid addiction.
If your addiction treatment program shuns MAT patients and relies on an abstinence-only method, now is the time to reconsider your approach. While many organizations still rely on this older approach to recovery, it would be reckless to fail to notice that the tide is turning.
Addiction Treatment Post-COVID Reality #4: More States Decriminalizing Drugs Means Fewer Court-Mandated Patients
Oregon just voted to decriminalize possession of all drugs of abuse. Though it’s the only state in the union to do so, the Drug Policy Alliance, the national non-profit behind the Oregon measure, has its eyes set on passing more legislation to decriminalize drugs throughout our country. Regardless of what you believe personally about decriminalization, the effects on the addiction treatment industry remain the same.
In states that legalize drugs, we will see fewer court-ordered treatment patients.
For addiction treatment centers that rely heavily on the justice system for new admissions, these changes could be existential.
If this describes your addiction treatment organization, begin thinking now about how you will pivot in response to this change. It could mean improving your outreach efforts to certain communities, planning to invest in advertising campaigns or shifting your focus to a different niche within addiction treatment. Keep an eye out for developments in your state and plan accordingly.
We’re Here To Help
At BehaveHealth, we are committed to supporting the addiction treatment community through this turbulent time. Our cloud-based software solution is designed especially for addiction treatment providers just like you. We continue to update our software in response to the changing treatment environment so that you can forget about the tech and focus on providing the best care possible to your patients. Claim your free trial to see how we can help your addiction treatment organization thrive today.
Stop Wasting Time with Inefficient Billing at Your Addiction Treatment Center: Introducing Behave Health's New Billing Assistant
Without billing, your addiction treatment center doesn’t get paid.
Does it get any more important than that?
Though we can all agree that billing is the lifeblood of the addiction treatment community, too many addiction treatment centers are struggling with outdated billing systems and inefficient billing departments.
At Behave Health, we are proud of the integrated billing software we’ve bundled with our all-in-one software solution for addiction treatment centers. Our unique billing tools have saved a lot of companies in the addiction treatment space time, money and sanity when it comes to revenue cycle management.
But like many of our addiction treatment center users, we’re not happy with “good enough.” For our Summer 2020 update, we decided to take something that was already clicking for our customers - the RCM component of our software solution - and make it even better.
Read on to learn about the awesome new features we’ve added to our Billing Assistant for 2020 and how they can help save your business time and money.
Our New Services Book Put an End to Time Consuming Addiction Treatment Bill Generation
If you are tired of manually entering each individual service and details about that service, like the date, price and billing cycle information, then you’ll love our new Services Book.
With our Services Book, you create a pre-made selection of services that you offer at your addiction treatment center. You pre-set the details, such as the description, the price and the billing frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc). Once you’ve entered that information, you never have to enter it again. The hard part is done.
When you’re ready to create a bill, simply select the service from the Services Book and your bill is automatically generated!
Kiss Inefficiency Goodbye with Automated Repeating Charges for Addiction Treatment Patients
Let our Billing Assistant keep track of when to create new bills. Our new automated repeating charges feature means you’ll never be late in billing for a repeating charge again.
Simply choose the frequency of the repeating charge and we’ll take care of the rest.
Quickly and Easily Accept Payment from Multiple Payers for Addiction Treatment Bills
Addiction treatment patients frequently split their bills with loved ones - sometimes many loved ones. It’s a wonderful thing to see patients get the support they need through their treatment, but for addiction treatment billing departments, it’s a paperwork nightmare. Most systems just aren’t set up to easily process multiple payments for a single bill.
We heard about this problem from our addiction treatment center users and we listened. Our new Summer 2020 update makes it a snap to accept payment - no matter how many people want to help. No workarounds or “special tricks” necessary. This basic functionality is built right into the billing assistant.
Let Addiction Treatment Patients Pay Using the Payment Method That’s Easiest for Them
It’s 2020. Your addiction treatment patients probably aren’t toting around a checkbook anymore. Your younger patients, in particular, might not even be using plastic anymore - they’re making payments through bill pay apps like Venmo and Cashapp. So, are you ready to meet them where they’re at and make it easier for them to pay their bills?
Behave Health’s Summer 2020 Billing Assistant update can help you get there.
With our new update, you can accept:
Cash
Bank Accounts
Money Order
Paypal
Cash App
Venmo
Zelle
We’re Here to Help
Want to learn more about what our all-in-one software system designed especially for addiction treatment providers can do to help take your business to the next level?
Behave Health is here to help you reach your goals. Claim your free trial today.
Here's the Coronavirus Inspired Recovery Lessons Your Addiction Treatment Program Should be Teaching Now - Part 2
In last month’s “coronavirus lessons for recovery” post, we discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic presents many opportunities for practicing acceptance in recovery. So much of our world is different, unknown, painful, and scary right now as a result of this virus—for everyone, but especially for your addiction treatment patients.
Here's the Coronavirus-Inspired Recovery Lesson Your Addiction Treatment Program Should be Teaching Now
5 Ways Your Addiction Treatment Center Needs to Respond to COVID-19
Now What? How to Set Your Addiction Treatment Alumni Up for Success
Should Your Addiction Treatment Center Accept Public Payers like Medicaid and Medicare?
About 12% of patients with Medicaid insurance have a substance abuse problem.
If your center isn’t accepting public payer plans—like Medicaid and Medicare—then you’re missing out on a massive pool of potential patients. Still, many centers decide to pass on public payer insurance and only accept private insurance and self-pay patients—and for good reason.
How to Make a Perfect Addiction Treatment Biopsychosocial Assessment Every Time
Biopsychosocials (or “BPS” for short) are often one of the first pieces of documentation addiction treatment counselors complete with their patients. Although busy clinicians might dread writing these lengthy and time consuming tomes on each client, the BPS is more than just a mandatory insurance form.
How Smart Patient Portals Improve Addiction Treatment Engagement and Outcomes
Patient portals—online dashboards where patients can access their EHR, view test results, review treatment plans, track referrals, and message their providers—have been around for years.
The adoption of patient portals in the addiction treatment industry was slow, but as more and more providers realize the benefits of these powerful patient engagement tools, patient portal adoption rates at addiction treatment centers and sober living homes are soaring.
BehaveHealth Bridge: Introducing our Latest Smart Software for Treatment Center Admissions
We hear it from our clients all the time: treating patients for SUD is easy, but getting patients into treatment is hard.
For many of the providers we work with, filling beds and keeping them filled seems to be taking more and more staff time, slowly cutting into their businesses’ bottom line. That’s why we created BehaveHealth Bridge—a platform to help you connect with new clients.
4 Tips for Developing Outcome Tracking for Your Addiction and Mental Health Treatment Organization
You already know your treatment center is providing excellent care, but do you have the numbers to back it up?
Anecdotal evidence is no longer enough to convince prospective clients and their families to trust your center with a life-and-death behavioral health crisis.
What is the Intensive Outpatient (IOP) level of care?
IOP stands for Intensive Outpatient. This type of care is used most in the behavioral health industry for the treatment of substance abuse issues. It is also utilized for patients with mental health disorders.
Most state licensing departments classify IOP as an outpatient service, requiring an outpatient license. IOP can be 3, 4, or 5 days per week and normally consists of at least 3 hours per day of programming.
IOP is often used as a step down from a Partial Hospitalization program. Depending on the program, they can be encouraged to look for employment in this level of care, but that is not a requirement. In early recovery, it is important to maintain structure for the client, which can be achieved with IOP.
Get your free trial started today and see why more addiction treatment centers prefer Behave Health.