New rules have been released for 42 CFR part 2, the law that provides for confidentiality of addiction treatment records. The changes are intended to make information sharing between providers easier, though it's not clear how much this will actually help. The new rules can be found here. The federal press release can be found here. … Continue reading Updates to 42 CFR part 2

I'm taking some time off for the holidays and using it as an opportunity to catch up on a long neglected item on my to-do list. (It was a busy semester.) I've just now had a chance to seriously dig in to Jennifer Matesa's most recent book, Sex in Recovery: A Meeting Between the Covers. Sex … Continue reading Book review – Sex in Recovery: A Meeting Between the Covers

We've been working on a campaign to highlight businesses that hire people in recovery. We just completed what we hope will be the first of many video profiles. The Lunchroom is a special place. They serve great food. Really great food. They are a successful and growing business. And, 11 out of their 27 employees … Continue reading Recovery is Good Business – The Lunch Room

I haven't said much about the 21st Century Cures Act because I haven't really known what to make of it. Addiction treatment is underfunded, so I'd never argue that funding is not needed. However, recent funding proposals have very heavily emphasized maintenance treatments for opioid addiction. This approach seems likely to reinforce a tiered system where health … Continue reading What’s in the 21st Century Cures Act?

If you have a couple of minutes, check out Chris Budnick's interview with Kevin McCauley. The whole conversation is great, but 24:15 to 25:50 really leapt out at me. Kevin shares his mom's reaction to learning of his addiction and harm reduction as a "deeply humane response" to what is often perceived as a "set of unsolvable … Continue reading Harm reduction and recovery advocacy

From the Star Tribune: As opioid overdose deaths have spiked in Minnesota — from 54 in 2000 to 355 last year — so has the number of methadone clinics and patients. Across the state, 16 clinics now treat some 6,700 addicts. But methadone deaths have risen in tandem. Minnesota is on pace for more than … Continue reading Methadone accounts for 19.7% of Minnesota’s opioid deaths

The headline says it all: How We Got Here: Treating Addiction In 28 Days More: She says the late Daniel Anderson was one of the primary architects of the "Minnesota model," which became the prevailing treatment protocol for addiction specialists. At a state hospital in Minnesota in the 1950s, Anderson saw alcoholics living in locked … Continue reading Amen.

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There have been a couple of news stories about buprenorphine over the last couple of days. The first article looks at the business of pain medication, medications to treat side effects of pain medication and medications to treat addiction to pain medication. Opioid prescriptions alone have skyrocketed from 112 million in 1992 to nearly 249 … Continue reading “nothing was quite like Suboxone”