| Helping Hoosiers Fight Addiction By Wendy McNamara | |||||
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Over the past several years, the number of opioid-related deaths in Indiana has substantially increased.
I supported legislation that would implement a set of guidelines to be followed by all doctors and office-based opioid treatment centers that prescribe Suboxone, a synthetic drug that helps people get off heroin. Similar to Methadone clinics, Suboxone clinics would be required to follow up on their patients to ensure proper recovery.
Patients with more frequent doctor interactions could have a higher chance of beating addiction. Physicians would be able to administer a more comprehensive treatment plan and better track their progress.
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This bill would also require doctors prescribing Suboxone at these treatment centers to check Indiana’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database. This could help prevent “doctor shopping†patients from traveling to several different offices or clinics trying to obtain Suboxone.
As legislators, we have a responsibility to the people of Indiana to make sure these clinics are correctly caring for their patients when they are treated with Suboxone. By enacting these commonsense reforms, we can continue to curb opioid addiction in Indiana.
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