The tragic case of Matthew Perry shines a light on the ugly truth that addiction often starts in the doctor’s office when individuals are prescribed substances. Providers are frequently gatekeepers of patient care. This is why it’s so important to put the right tools, like Compris, into their hands to understand and assess their patient’s risk when prescribing substances.
When Matthew Perry, “Friends” TV star, wrote his honest and devastating autobiography, he shared that he wanted to help others who also struggled with substance addictions. The book ended on a hopeful note, a place of optimism that the worst of his addiction was behind him. Yet he remained aware that it was entirely up to him to keep realistic about how easily he could slip back into another downward spiral.
Matthew Perry was not wrong about his situation. He was keenly aware of his precarious physical health, especially since 2019, when he barely survived a ruptured colon, undergoing a seven hour surgery that left him in a coma and subsequently hospitalized for months. Shame on the providers who took advantage of him, knowing that he was at high risk for losing his life, not only from the drugs, but also from other substance-related illnesses.
Recently, DEA's Anne Milgram spoke on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” about the potential for mismanaged ketamine to become the next drug opioid epidemic. She said that the DEA’s goal is to “save American lives” and that they are targeting doctors and practitioners "who are violating this duty of trust to their patients by over-prescribing medicine, or prescribing medicine that isn't necessary."
Matthew Perry spent over $50K monthly for the ketamine that ended his life.He spent almost nine million dollars on his illness, and was in rehabilitation over 15 times throughout his life. This is only one story of many, a heartbreaking testament to the way those with addictions have been treated, or dare I say, mistreated, for way too long. The fact that he had the resources to get help shows that all the money he threw at his problem couldn’t help him get better, in part because even healthcare specialists could not get past the stigma, and appeared to be complicit in keeping him sick.
Prevention is the key to managing this problem, both in saving lives and in health care costs to treat both the addictions and the comorbid illnesses. According to a 2021 reported study, 11% of all ER visits include those with substance use disorders and they are 1.3 times more likely to return to the ER within 72 hours. Hospitalizations are 25% higher among those with behavioral health issues and additions, and twice as many people with SUD were readmitted within 30 days.
For a long time, opioids were the medication of choice for managing pain, until, of course, they started to kill people. A patient’s response to pain management techniques and medications are complex and varied. Many people can develop addictions who have no prior history. For some people, these risks are minimal, and others have a higher probability.
Since most providers do not have the tools to differentiate addiction risks, prevention is not a viable option. In 2019, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) looked at 30 addiction screenings and determined that none of them were of “benefit or harm”. Current screens identify those prone to addiction only if they already have a history of misusing substances, but predicting risk for someone who has never used substances before is much more complex than a simple screen.
This is where Compris comes in. Compris can guide drug-prescribing providers, such as surgeons or pain management specialists, by differentiating who is likely to develop an addiction and who is not. Not only can Compris predict risk of addiction for those who have never had previous substance problems, for those already with a substance use disorder, it can predict addiction recovery as well. Compris’ Wellness Guide informs patients of their addiction risk, and improves their motivation and resilience. Compris’ data-driven provider Care Plan also measures patient treatment progress with resilience gains.
While Matthew Perry’s fame brought more attention to the devastation addiction brings to millions of people, including diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and death, his experience is a clear example of how addiction is one chronic illness that’s assessed and treated differently than other chronic conditions. We can change that. Compris strives to make addiction assessment, prevention, early intervention and treatment more accessible to everyone. By changing the conversation from stigma to inclusion, we can turn substance misuse behaviors into opportunities to save and reclaim countless lives.
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