According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in September 2020, 15.1% of U.S. adults reported new or increased substance use due to pandemic-related stress, and deaths due to drug overdose rose from 72,000 in 2019 to over 100,000 in 2022. Drug overdose deaths in Texas rose too, from 9.5 per 100,000 in 2015 to 16.69 per 100,000 in 2022 , a 93% increase. More than half of those deaths were related to opioid overdoses.
Beyond the death toll, substance use disorder (SUD) impacts the health and well-being of countless others, including the families of individuals with SUD and the communities where they live. It’s a complex public health crisis rooted in several social and scientific issues.
Substance use impacts us all. Texas now has new paths to treatment
Across the country, the public health strain brought on by the pandemic only worsened issues of substance use disorder, like alcoholism, recreational drug use and the ongoing opioid crisis. Texas has not been immune.
Texas has 254 diverse counties... Our mission is to provide access to high-quality, innovative and evidence-based treatment that is equitable and easy to access for all people in the state.”
To learn more about Be Well Texas, visit www.bewelltexas.org or call 888-85-BeWell.
Since its founding in 2020,
Be Well Texas has expanded its network across Texas to include virtual and in-person treatment and comprehensive recovery support services with peer counseling and recovery housing.
By StoryStudio on March 20, 2023
Be Well Texas is grounded in compassion, built on science, and improved by technology. Unlike other programs, Be Well Texas is an integrative SUD response program that offers statewide telehealth visits, counseling and recovery support services like peer counseling and recovery housing, and a network of providers who offer office-based opioid treatment and medication treatment for opioids, alcohol and other substances.
“We are reducing barriers to treatment through a network of programs often with no cost, including recovery support services and our newest program, a virtual clinic,” says Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH, vice president for research at UT Health San Antonio, and founder and executive director of Be Well, Texas. “Texas has 254 diverse counties, containing distinctive communities from rural to suburban to urban. Our mission is to provide access to high quality, innovative and evidence-based treatment that is equitable and easy to access for all people in Texas.”
The road to providing adequate and effective SUD care has its share of speed bumps no matter where you are. But in Texas, those obstacles are as vast as the state itself.
The first major barrier is basic access to treatment. This is a problem of geography, especially in the state’s remote rural areas where health care of any kind can be scarce, but also in its cities and suburbs where treatment programs are underfunded or just don’t exist. Access is also a matter of economics, with many people uninsured, under-insured or unable to afford the care, even if it’s available.
Be Well Texas is tackling these problems with a public health approach, leveraging existing community-based programs, public funding and technology. For instance, experts have found that large-scale use of telehealth and telementoring have increased the accessibility and affordability of treatment for people all over the state.
Obstacles to equitable care
Telementoring is... convenient and economical in that it doesn’t disrupt clinic workflow. This ensures that patients in remote areas can receive services like substance use disorder treatment from their usual providers.
Telehealth, the secure online communication between provider and patient, has increased greatly through the pandemic and beyond. It gets evidence-based treatment into people’s homes, no matter where they live. Be Well Texas has a virtual clinic that enables patients all over the state to get treatment via the internet using audio and video. This easy-to-use technology is convenient, confidential and flexible, while eliminating the need for travel, long wait times or the need to leave work or schedule child care.
The mental health component
Another barrier to effective treatment is the widespread misunderstanding about the nature of substance use disorder. Many people, even some providers, don’t fully understand the frequency with which mental health challenges and SUD coexist.
“Many estimates of co-occurring mental health problems in people with substance use are higher than 50%, some much higher,” says Van L. King, MD, DFAPA, FASAM, medical director at Be Well, Texas. “It is important to treat these problems concurrently to have the best outcomes.”
Again, a public health interdisciplinary approach using technology and existing community organizations and networks seems to be the most effective method of treatment.
“Most experts agree that a multidisciplinary approach is key to best outcomes,” King says. “Medication, psychotherapy and social supports, including peer coaching and peer support groups, as well as contingency management behavioral approaches can all be helpful. Thoughtful use of a combination of approaches can be more effective.”
SUD impacts everyone
Many people believe that SUD is someone else’s problem. It only affects other people, other families and other communities. And as a result, there is a powerful stigma surrounding the disorder that prevents people from speaking up and seeking help, either for themselves or for a loved one.
“We know the major reasons people don’t seek help is that they’re afraid or ashamed,” Potter says. “With other illnesses, injuries or tragedies, the family and community rally around them and bring casseroles to show their support. But for the family member who says my husband, or my wife is dealing with substance use, there is no casserole. It’s a lonely place.”
The truth is, eight in every 100 people in Texas have experienced SUD. Chances are, you know someone who lives with alcohol or drug use. If you believe they’ve reached the point where they need help, you can direct them to treatment with Be Well Texas, no matter where in the state they are.
SPONSORED BY Be Well, texas
Telehealth, the secure online communication between provider and patient, has increased greatly through the pandemic and beyond. It gets evidence-based treatment into people’s homes, no matter where they live. Be Well Texas has a virtual clinic that enables patients all over the state to get treatment via the internet using audio and video. This easy-to-use technology is convenient, confidential and flexible, while eliminating the need for travel, long wait times or the need to leave work or schedule child care.
Meanwhile, telementoring, which puts treatment experts in touch with providers, particularly primary care physicians in areas that don’t have SUD-specific patient care or programs, has also been an effective and economical way of getting cutting-edge training to healthcare professionals.
“It’s difficult, expensive and burdensome for providers to get out of their clinics for an extended period of time for education and professional development,” says Adrienne Lindsey, DBH, MA, director of the Center for Substance Use Training and Telementoring at Be Well Texas.
“Telementoring allows them to get access to high-quality instruction that otherwise might not be accessible to them due to distance. It’s also convenient and economical in that it doesn’t disrupt clinic workflow. This ensures that providers in remote areas where patients often cannot be seen or seen quickly for specialty care can now receive services like substance use disorder treatment from their usual providers.”
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“There are multiple issues going on, such as mental health, health inequity, cultural differences, unattended health care issues like diabetes and heart conditions, and lack of access to care,” says Briseida “Bee” Courtois, MSW, LCDC, director of substance use services for Be Well, Texas , a program of UT Health San Antonio that treats patients statewide for opioid and other substance use disorders. “The problem is compounded by ongoing and increased drug use and the economically disadvantaged with limited and sparse resources.”
While these issues may not be exclusive to Texas, the state is unique in how it’s approaching the issue: through evidence-based treatment and community partnership.
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