Common Referral Services
Inpatient Treatment
Detoxification – Designed for alcohol and/or opiate dependence. Typically involve 24 – hour medically assisted detoxification as well as intensive counseling. Often 1-2 week admission but more rapid programs exist. Typically followed by IOP (see below).
Outpatient Treatment
Detoxification – For alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opiates. Involves daily visits for medications, assessment of symptoms, vital signs, and brief mental status exams. Generally runs for 1-2 weeks. Typically covered by insurance and IOP is also followed by IOP (see below)
Intensive Outpatient Treatment (IOP) – appropriate for patients with mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms. Treatment includes group therapy and medication management. Typically last from 6-12 months. Typically covered by insurance.
Dual Diagnosis – Treatment for co-occurring substance use and mental illness. Provides medication evaluation and supportive counseling for mental illness and addiction. Often covered by insurance.
Narcotics or Opiod Treatment Programs– Individual, family, and group counseling; medication treatment including methadone and buprenorphine. This service is not covered by insurance.
Residential short-term and long term treatment – Medical Treatment with community and living environment. Can last between a month and a year and is ideal for patients with unstable living situations or limited social support. Patients have limited visitation and leave privileges.
Community Based Treatment
Support Groups – Meetings to offer social support and a community for people with addictions problems. No medical treatments, instead help addicts deal with the social and mental aspects of addiction and give them tools and resources for combating their addiction. Most are free and do not have mandatory attendance. Examples include Alcoholic Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous. You can also join these groups from home as they have web based groups.
Faith-based programs – Volunteers of America, Church –based outreach programs, etc. Treatment typically involves group meetings and individual counseling. Free of Charge
Transitional Living homes often referred to as Half Way homes-
Patients can reside for several months in home or apartment where substance use is prohibited. Group counseling and other resources are available during stay. Cost associated with housing.
This page summarizes some of the many services that are available for your patients.
Special Populations.
Adolescents, pregnant or post-partum mothers, and patients with HIV/AIDS often have other options for treatment that are designed especially for them. For example, programs exist in Indianapolis that include in-home and clinic-based comprehensive outpatient treatment and services for pregnant, postpartum and parenting woman who abuse substances. Services include, group and family therapy.
Is your head spinning yet? The point of letting you, the doctor, know about these services is to give you a sense of the breadth of treatment and recovery services available. The message you can now send to patients is that treatment is highly variable, recovery is possible and help is available. They only have to be willing to take the next step and get more information.
Which ones your patient makes use of will depend heavily on the individual circumstances of your particular patient and can only be decided working together with the patient to identify his or her needs and willingness to make use of services.