Category Archives: Florida Methadone Clinics

Methadone Clinics Offer Important Medical Service

methadone clinics medication assistanceThere are currently well over 1000 methadone clinics in operation across the United States and many more throughout the world. Methadone has been a leading treatment intervention for opioid addiction for more than 40 years. Methadone is an FDA-approved medication and it’s use in treating opioid addiction has been identified by SAMHSA as a best practice, evidence-based treatment approach.

Adding to the legacy of methadone as a successful treatment medium are the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have been able to totally eliminate the severe opioid withdrawal sickness that wrecked their lives. The value of this medical benefit is priceless.

The cost for participating in a methadone program varies from clinic to clinic and in part depends on whether the clinic receives any state funding or accepts Medicaid for payment. Many clinics operate as private practices funded primarily through patient self-payment. Private clinics often offer a substantial discount for patients that pay for a month of services in advance.

Due to methadone’s proven efficacy, many addicted people experience rapid relief from opiate withdrawal and find themselves eating and sleeping more normally, gaining weight, and able to work again. They are able to pursue other goals & responsibilities that had previously become too difficult in their active addiction.

Methadone is a powerful medication that must be taken as prescribed and in conjunction with good counseling. When a patient is willing to embrace medication-assisted treatment and to utilize it properly, recovery can happen. This life restoration process is demonstrated on a daily basis all around the country.

> Compare Different Opioid Addiction Treatments

 

Welcome Access Recovery Solutions

ars-locationAccess Recovery Solutions (ARS) Delray Beach is a newly opened outpatient opioid treatment program that offers both methadone and buprenorphine. They are a member of Addiction Medical Solutions who have other methadone clinics across the country.

ARS specialize in medication assisted treatment and have a unique Maintenance to Abstinence program designed to assist patients in eventually becoming free of opioid medications once they have experienced a period of stability. The program is built on a two year continuum of care treatment model.

The ARS clinic provides individualized treatment planning for patients, and their counseling approaches include cognitive-behavioral and motivational approaches up to and including an intensive outpatient program (IOP). IOP is a SAMHSA endorsed, evidence-based addiction treatment that is in widespread use across the United States due to its effectiveness in helping patients learn about and apply effective recovery tools.

ARS offer a variety of other programs and services to serve the Delray Beach community including a Speakers Bureau. With advance notice, the company can provide speakers to educate professionals and non-professionals on substance use disorders and addiction issues. Interested parties can reach the organization at: 561-865-2550. The contact person for ARS Delray Beach is Mike Errico.

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Safety and Security With Methadone

methadone-safetyIf you are currently a client in a methadone clinic, then you have most likely heard treatment staff emphasize the importance of safety with methadone and the necessity of carefully securing take home methadone doses. Methadone is a powerful medication that is tremendously helpful to recovering individuals. It is also potentially lethal in the wrong hands and consequently must be deliberately safeguarded.

There is a recently published article on Bloomberg regarding methadone being diverted and then taken by someone who later died from an overdose. This turn of events has led to newly proposed legislation in five states (Maine, Indiana, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania) that would further tighten regulations regarding the operation of methadone clinics and their award of methadone take home medication to their clients.

The reported misuse of methadone, and associated deaths, was allegedly tied to several private, for-profit clinics that operate in these states. One of the criticisms of the private, for-profit clinics was that they are not providing "enough services". This is intended to mean that the clinics in question were not providing sufficient education & counseling support or adequate monitoring of those who receive take home methadone.

It is critically important that all methadone clinics (both private and publicly supported) implement thorough measures to educate clients on methadone safety concerns as well as institute monitoring protocols like 24 hour callbacks and random drug testing. 24 hour callbacks require take home recipients to return to their home clinic within 24 hours and to produce their methadone take home doses for count and inspection by the clinic's medical staff.

It is also important that methadone clinics only award take home medication privileges to those clients who have achieved certain progress milestones such as successive months of clean urinalysis, attendance to required counseling sessions, the absence of criminal charges, and demonstrated appropriate behaviors & attitude toward staff and peers at the clinic.

When individuals intentionally divert methadone doses or mishandle methadone through lax practices (such as leaving it sitting out in plain view), they put others at risk and ultimately undermine the delivery of methadone services in the community. In other words, the mistakes of a few can negatively affect everyone. This also erodes the community's confidence in methadone as a life-saving medical treatment.

In the end, it is the shared responsibility of all methadone clinics and their clients to insure that methadone is taken as prescribed, and safeguarded from diversion. When proper precautions are not honored, tragedies will occur. This will lead to state legislators taking matters into their own hands with additional laws & regulations that may keep worthy individuals from receiving a valuable privilege. Take home medication is so very beneficial to honest, hard-working individuals in recovery. It frees them to seek employment, hold a job, care for family, and to more easily meet many other important responsibilities in their lives.

Florida Methadone Clinics Serve Many

florida-methadone-3Florida currently hosts opioid treatment clinics in about 30 of its largest and most popular cities. The state is ranked 4th nationally in population with an estimated 18.6 million people residing in The Sunshine State. As is typically the case, the number of suboxone-approved physicians considerably outnumber actual “clinics” that dispense methadone or suboxone. The Miami area, for example, has about 60 such suboxone-approved doctors treating opioid addicted persons.

Florida is one of the most visited states in America as a vacation destination, and attracts millions of visitors annually from all around the world. For opioid treatment clients traveling to Florida, guest dosing is a common occurrence and relatively easy to set-up. This is usually accomplished by speaking to one’s primary counselor (or possibly the dispensing nurse) at one’s home clinic.

The staff at the home clinic must fax a request for guest dosing to the travel destination clinic. Bear in mind that many clinics require at least 72 hours advance notice to arrange for guest dosing, and a client must always produce a picture idea at the travel clinic verifying their identity in order to receive medication. Guest clinics typically charge a little more than normal dosing fees due to the administrative time & expense involved in setting up a visitor’s guest dosing.

For a complete listing of Methadone.US Florida cities, visit our Methadone Clinics By State page. There, you will find a number of Florida hot spots with methadone clinics and Suboxone (buprenorphine) providers listed near the bottom of each city page. Also see the page, Florida Methadone Clinics.