After surviving an opioid overdose in an emergency room, a patient decided he was ready to get help for his addiction. The ER staff called a transport to take him to a detox and treatment center, however when he arrived, he was told to return another day because the transport was too late. The patient was returned to the hospital, where he left, disappointed and angry. Tragically, this was a missed opportunity to get him into treatment for his addiction.
The ongoing stigma surrounding substance addictions may have cost this man his life. It's doubtful he would have been turned away if he had suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
Until we start assessing and treating addictions as the chronic illnesses that they are, there will continue to be missed opportunities to save someone's life. Treatment will remain uninformed and ineffective, and we will be unable to provide more sustained answers to successfully manage this chronic illness.
Compris, as its French meaning implies, understands that any comprehensive addiction assessment must include the following seven well established illness parameters: prevention, acuity, severity, risk, resilience, readiness and remission. Compris's game-changing new paradigm reflects the research that helps inform the solutions to this chronic disease.
This easily accessible, 10-minute online assessment delivers our ComprisCare Profile to providers within minutes of completion. It can be used by addictions specialists, primary care practices, emergency rooms, and criminal justice reform.
If you would like to learn more or help us more effectively manage this chronic illness, please contact us, join us, or share us with your network on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
Thank you.
Joyce Ann and Calvin McGinn