The escalating cost of healthcare for individuals who remain untreated for opioid addiction is a pressing concern.
Untreated opioid addiction often leads to a range of severe and costly health complications, including:
- chronic diseases
- frequent hospitalizations
- emergency interventions
Patients with opioid addiction often face repeated overdoses, infections, and mental health issues, leading to high healthcare costs. Project VBOT's Medication Assisted Treatment program saves lives by addressing Substance Use Disorder early, which can significantly reduce costs. Our Clinical Team follows value-based care protocols, focusing on individualized recovery journeys, while our Care Plan Management System monitors progress across all aspects of care. By integrating medical and mental health services through a multidisciplinary virtual care team, we provide cohesive, effective treatment, supported by case managers and peer specialists. This comprehensive approach enhances recovery, prevents relapse, and offers better outcomes for both patients and healthcare providers.
Studies show that geographic barriers, due to the lack of providers within certain areas, are the cause for reduced access to treatment but our virtual model eliminates this barriers:
- By enabling the most motivated practitioners to participate; by providing the best available clinical tools.
- By removing transportation problems, child care issues, and loss of work attendance.
- And by eliminating stigma through offering anonymity with telemedicine.
All of these features effectively support the patients desire to get their LIVES BACK..
VBOT Key Metrics
Each year, opioid overdose, misuse and dependence account for:
$35 billion in health care costs
Patients who experienced an opioid overdose accounted for $1.94 billion in annual hospital costs.
$14.8 billion in criminal justice costs
Each dollar invested in addiction treatment reduces drug-related crime, theft and criminal justice costs by $4-$7.
$92 billion in lost productivity
The losses stem from premature death due to overdose, “productive hours” lost to OUD, and opioid-related incarceration.
Nearly 70,000 Americans died of an opioid overdoes in 2020. Improving access to evidence-based treatments for OUD has been associated with savings of $25,000 to $105,000 in lifetime costs per person.
Treatment benefit: Every $1 invested in addiction treatment programs yields healthcare cost savings of $5-$8
Savings related to healthcare are included, total savings can exceed costs by a ration of 12:1
A 2016 study on the cost of people with OUD that goes undiagnosed indicated an additional $14,810 in healthcare costs
Underserved Areas
The opioid crisis has had a profound impact on rural and medically underserved areas, with significant challenges that differentiate these regions from more urbanized and better-served areas. Here's are examples of the impact:
Healthcare Access and Infrastructure
- Rural and underserved areas often lack healthcare providers, making it difficult for individuals to access timely and effective treatment, including Medication-Assisted Treatment, counseling, and detox services.
- In many rural areas, a lack of specialized addiction treatment facilities forces residents with limited transportation to travel long distances, making care difficult to access.
Overdose Rates and Mortality
- Rural areas, with some of the highest overdose rates in the country, often face higher mortality due to limited access to emergency medical services, including naloxone.
- Longer response times in rural areas, due to dispersed emergency services, can be fatal in opioid overdose cases where quick action is crucial.
Social and Economic Impact
- The opioid crisis has worsened economic decline in rural areas by increasing unemployment, reducing workforce participation, and raising healthcare costs.
- The opioid crisis has overwhelmed rural social services, straining foster care, law enforcement, and healthcare systems, leading to inadequate support for affected individuals and families.
Stigma and Mental Health
- In small rural communities, intense stigma around substance use disorder often deters individuals from seeking help due to fear of judgement and ostracism.
- The lack of mental health services in rural areas exacerbates isolation and increases the risk of substance abuse by leaving underlying issues unaddressed.
Family and Community Impact
- The opioid crisis has sharply increased foster care placements in rural areas due to parental addiction, destabilizing families and impacting children's well-being.
- The loss of community members to addiction and overdose disrupts local schools, businesses, and civic life, eroding the social fabric and complicating resource mobilization in rural areas.
Legal and Law Enforcement Challenges
- Rural areas often rely heavily on law enforcement for opioid addiction, leading to higher incarceration rates and failing to address the root causes of addiction.
- Rural law enforcement agencies, with limited resources, struggle to address the opioid crisis as drug-related crime exacerbates their challenges.
Policy and Funding Gaps
- Rural areas, disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis, often receive less funding for treatment and prevention programs compared to urban areas, limiting their ability to respond effectively.
Expanding access to opioid treatment in rural areas will save lives and reduce both treatment and related economic costs. Offering accessible virtual care can prevent costly emergency interventions and hospitalizations due to untreated addiction. This proactive strategy not only tackles the epidemic's root causes but also provides a sustainable solution to ease the financial strain on healthcare and society.