Substance Use Disorder Services
SWLA Center for Health Services offers Substance Use Disorder Services, also know as the MAT Program. Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) includes the use of pharmacologic interventions (buprenorphine) along with counseling and other support. Medication allows for the patient to regain a normal state of mind and the opportunity to focus on necessary lifestyle changes that will lead the patient back to a healthy life.
The goal of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program is for patients to recover from addiction.
What is an Opioid?
An opioid is a drug that affects the brain. Opioids are used to relieve pain and to address other health problems. “Opioid” is a broad term that refers to both prescription pain medication (oxycodone) and illegal substances (heroin and carfentanil).
People may become dependent on or addicted to opioids. This happens when a person has been taking opiods for a long amount of time or even misusing or abusing them to feel a sense of relief. When a person becomes addicted, they begin to experience a craving for opioids and evenutally loss control over the amount times they use. Misuse of legal opioids is often linked to the use of illegal opioids.
Louisiana MAT Fact: According to the Louisiana Department of Health, there were 982 opioid-involved deaths in the state of Louisiana in 2020.
Opioid Addiction is Treatable
MAT treats dependence and addiction by using medication to ease withdrawal and ongoing cravings. This treatment must include counseling to address root causes of the dependence and to strategize recovery plans. Taking medication for opioid addiction is much like taking medication to control diabetes or heart disease, you have to take the appropriate medications that are used to treat that specific disease. Using appropriate medications will greatly improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for patients, while decreasing the cost of the medication they would have to take for a period of years.
MAT has been shown to increase patient survival, reduce the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and viral hepatitis, by reducing needle sharing, increase patient’s participation in treatment, decrease illegal opioid use, increase patient’s ability to get and keep employment, and improve birth outcomes or pregnant women with substance use disorders who are pregnant. Some people are eventually able to stop MAT and maintain long-term recovery.
Buprenorphine Treatment
SWLA will utilize Buprenorphine for an office based opioid treatment program (OBOT), which allows primary care or general health care prescribers with a DATA waiver to dispense or prescribe any Controlled Substances.
Buprenorphine is an opioid partial agonist. This means that, like opioids, it produces effects such as euphoria or respiratory depression at low to moderate doses. With buprenorphine, however, these effects are weaker than full opioid agonists such as heroin and methadone.
Buprenorphine has unique pharmacological properties that help:
Download Our New Patient Registration Packet
SWLA Center for Health Services accepts all patients regardless of their insurance or financial status. We are a federally qualified health care program which in turn allows us to offer a wide range of services to patients through the sliding-fee scale.
Click the link below for the New Patient Packet. Fill out the forms, print and bring them with you to your appointment.
