It appears you don't have support to open PDFs in this web browser. To view this file, Open with your PDF reader
Abstract
Background
Opioid use and opioid overdose deaths are at an all-time high and evidence-based treatments for people with opioid use disorder (OUD) are underutilized. Therefore, we sought to understand experiences and perceptions of abuses in the for-profit substance use disorder treatment industry that could potentially put people with OUD at an increased risk for an overdose.
Methods
One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted from November 2018 to May 2019 in Southern California with 20 people with OUD and 20 professionals who work in the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment field. A grounded theory approach was conducted to discover emerging patterns from the data.
Results
Three major themes emerged:1) financial and material enticements, 2) encouraging substance use in the for-profit treatment sector, and 3) contributors to overdose risk. Participants reported that patient brokers would pay for plane tickets and offer financial incentives (e.g., money) to attract individuals to SUD treatment, capitalizing on insurance profits despite initial expenses. Participants reported being encouraged to use drugs before treatment to meet insurance conditions, thus jeopardizing genuine recovery efforts and adding to the temptation of drug use. Many participants linked patient brokering to increased overdose deaths, emphasizing the dangerous practices of brokers providing drugs, promoting relapse, and creating a revolving door of treatment, which compounds the overdose risk after periods of abstinence.
Conclusions
Patient brokering and unethical abuses in the for-profit treatment industry have caused some people with OUD to seek treatment for money and housing instead of seeking treatment to stop opioid use. The harmful treatment environment was seen as a barrier to care and an unwanted obstacle to overcome on the path to recovery.
You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer
Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer