Good news: The Biden Administration released new federal guidelines last month that make it easier for patients to get buprenorphine from their physicians!
Beginning April 2021, eligible healthcare providers will be able to prescribe buprenorphine without taking extra hours of training. Doctors will also no longer be required to refer buprenorphine patients to counseling, although complementary care and counseling is still highly recommended by SAMHSA.
What does this mean for your sober living home?
Well, because of these changes, it’s likely that the number of sober living home residents who are receiving MAT will increase.
If you don’t already have sober living home residents who are MAT patients, you will soon!
What is Buprenorphine and How Does it Work?
Buprenorphine (or just “bupe” for short) is a very unique medication. It produces effects that are comparable to low dose opioids (euphoria, etc) but it also blocks the effects of other opioids.
If you take buprenorphine in the morning and then later that day inject heroin, for example, the effects of the heroin will be blunted or non-existent. Simply put, buprenorphine physically blocks you from getting high for about 12-24 hours after taking a single dose.
For this reason, it’s called an opioid partial agonist-antagonist.
Buprenorphine is a key ingredient in drugs like Suboxone, as well as generic versions of these medications. It often comes in films or sublingual tabs that you dissolve in your mouth because they won’t work as intended if the medication is swallowed whole.
Buprenorphine is a schedule III drug, which means it causes physical and psychological dependence. Patients are advised to taper down from the drug instead of suddenly ceasing use. Many patients stay on medication long-term, and the drug has been shown to be safe for long-term use.
What is Suboxone?
Suboxone is a brand name drug used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). It eliminates cravings and withdrawal symptoms for those with OUD. There are also generic versions of Suboxone available.
Patients typically take Suboxone once per day and don’t need to make daily treks to a clinic to get their dose. With the recent changes to the law, Suboxone can be prescribed by most PCPs now, making Suboxone a convenient choice for MAT patients.
In addition to buprenorphine, Suboxone also contains Naloxone, the active ingredient in the opioid overdose antidote, Narcan. Naloxone is included in Suboxone to make it harder to abuse. Naloxone will cause unpleasant and possibly serious withdrawal symptoms if the patient attempts to abuse Suboxone by snorting or injecting it.
Housing Buprenorphine or Suboxone Patients at Your Sober Living Home
There are a few things to consider when housing a MAT patient who is taking Suboxone or another medication that contains buprenorphine at your sober living home.
First, educate yourself and your sober living home managers about MAT. Understand that Suboxone is a medication, and not a drug of abuse, when taken appropriately.
Second, provide for secure storage for your resident's medication. Many sober living homes provide individual lock boxes for their MAT residents. Others store medications in a centrally located group storage area which can only be accessed by sober living staff. Some sober living homes provide supervised doses for MAT patients who need accountability with their medication.
Third, establish good communication with the resident’s medical team. For residents who are new to MAT, request a disclosure agreement that allows your sober living staff to communicate with the resident’s care team. (Don’t skip this step or you could run afoul of HIPAA laws.) Have staff touch base periodically about dosage instructions and drug testing results to ensure that the resident is complying with the doctor’s treatment plan.
Managing Buprenorphine or Suboxone Residents is Easy With Sober Living App
Tracking MAT residents is a slightly more detailed process than managing non-MAT residents. Organizing coordination of care with the resident’s clinical team involves tracking contact details and conversations. There’s also information on dosing instructions and storage that needs to be retained and communicated between staff members. Any abuse incidents will need to be noted and communicated to staff as well as the patient’s care team.
It’s a lot, actually.
Sober Living App can transform the overwhelm and help make all the extra house-keeping involved with MAT residents a snap.
Our cloud based app is designed especially for busy sober living home operators. If you’re looking for a simple, intuitive tool to calm the chaos and tame the details of sober living home management, Sober Living App is for you.
Claim your free trial today and see why more sober living homes prefer the Sober Living App.