Fighting Opioid Addiction Disease with MAT Treatment

What many people don’t realize about people with opioid addiction is that addiction is not a choice, it is a disease that is chronic and manifests biologically, psychologically, and socially. The American Society of Addiction Medicine, or ASAM, states that Opioid addiction is a primary, chronic disease of the brain that leads to characteristic biological, physiological, and social manifestation.

Because addiction is a chronic disease that manifests in so many different ways, it needs to be treated in a powerful way to address all issues, with a drug addiction specialist in an opioid addiction rehab clinic.

According to the ASAM, the treatment model of this complex and often devastating disease requires interventions that address these components – including medication-assisted treatment (MAT).

What is MAT?

MAT (Medication-assisted treatment) is a treatment method which takes both medical and behavioral therapy in conjunction to help fight addiction in a whole person approach.

“Substantial literature documents the clinical effectiveness of MAT as a treatment for opioid addiction. Despite this evidence and the worsening epidemic, MAT is significantly underutilized. Of the estimated 2.5 million patients who need treatment for opioid use disorder, only a small fraction of the population on can access it.”, as stated by the ASAM. 

As ASAM states, MAT treatment is underutilized and not enough of the population has easy access to it, which is so unfortunate in this epidemic because it is highly revered as the most effective treatment method. Dr. Nicholas Atanasoff, CEO and founder of Addiction Outreach Clinic is a member of the ASAM.

MAT is Underutilized

ASAM does a very good job of outlining their goals of MAT treatment care models. Take a look here to see what they have put together: Click Here 

Addiction Outreach Clinic offers same-day/next-day appointments and an easy online appointment request process.  Scheduled an appointment today by clicking here or call us at 330-259-4849.