Opioid Treatment in New Mexico
If you are dependent on an opioid drug such as OxyContin, contact Bright Heart Health for help today. We serve people in the entire state of New Mexico for opioid dependency. Our comprehensive treatment program includes medical help, therapy, counseling and peer support. Our entire program is accessible online making us a viable option no matter where you live in New Mexico. Contact us for a free one-on-one consultation with one of our helpful and concerned opioid recovery specialists.
The opioid epidemic which is sweeping the nation is claiming more victims in New Mexico than almost any other state. In 2014, New Mexico had the second highest rate of overdose deaths in the United States. There were more deaths from prescription opioids than almost all other drugs combined, including illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin and meth. Moreover, death from prescription opioid overdose is the leading cause of injury death in the nation, outranking even car accidents.
Albuquerque
Santa Fe
Taos
Las Cruces
Roswell
Rio Rancho
Why Do We Have a Prescription Opioid Epidemic?
Opioids include opiates such as morphine, opium and heroin which are derived from the Opium poppy and synthetic drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone which affect the body the same way. Most opioids are legally prescribed for pain.
Big Pharma
As recently as 1994, prescription opioids such as morphine and oxycodone were only prescribed to terminally ill cancer patients. In 1995 Purdue Pharma added a time release mechanism to oxycodone which was supposed to make the drug less dangerous by spreading the effects of a dose over a 12-hour period.
Dependency
Millions of patients were prescribed OxyContin for a comparatively minor injury or condition and, finding that the pain relief did not last for twelve hours, took more of the medication than prescribed and rapidly became dependent on it. Once dependent, some patients resorted to buying opioid drugs illegally in order to avoid withdrawal and/or took too much of an opioid drug and overdosed. Victims of the current epidemic come from all walks of life. Most have one thing in common—they were prescribed an opioid medication for a medical condition and they found themselves sucked into the hellish vortex of opioid dependence.
Meet the Team
Dr. Abriel
Dr. Autio
Ron Fritz
Our treatment team includes Suboxone© certified doctors, psychologists, therapists, counselors and dieticians. We work together to develop an intensive treatment plan which is tailored to your unique needs. Plans can include medical treatment, therapy, individual counseling, group therapy and anger management. We are the only resource to offer Opioid treatment via telemedicine. You can access your treatment using a computer, tablet or smartphone. After an initial office visit we will treat you via telemedicine no matter where you’re at in New Mexico. If you travel, we will be accessible online to ensure your treatment continues uninterrupted.
Effective Opioid Treatment
Effective Opioid treatment is different for each patient, depending on your unique circumstances and needs. Because there is no effective permanent withdrawal for most patients who are opioid dependent, another drug is usually prescribed to manage the physical dependence that comes when the opioid changes a person’s body chemistry. Suboxone© (brand name for buprenorphin /naloxone ) is considered the safest alternative by the United States Food and Drug Administration when used as prescribed for opioid dependence. Patients who take Suboxone can lead normal lives.
Because Opioid dependence is a complex problem which varies from patient to patient, a successful treatment strategy is a comprehensive holistic approach that is tailored to each patient’s unique needs. Treatments can include medication, therapy, counseling and peer support. Patients have to be medically screened prior to devising a strategy in order to ensure that they are not pregnant or allergic to medications.
Why is Bright Heart Health Treatment Effective?
At Bright Heart Health our staff is dedicated to fighting the opioid epidemic. We are physicians, psychologists, therapists, social workers and recovery support professionals who are passionate about helping people to regain power over their lives and health and recover from the devastation of opioid dependence.
We tailor treatment to each patient’s specific needs. We will listen to your story, examine your medical history, and devise a strategy designed to help you to recover physically, emotionally and mentally from your horrific experience so that you can live your life in the healthiest way.
What is Telemedicine Treatment?
Telemedicine treatment has been around for decades. It was devised to allow doctors to treat patients in remote locations via telephone. When the United States Government saw how it could provide rapid emergency treatment and medical care in urban areas with healthcare shortages they funded research and development in the 1960s.
Reach Rural Areas
One early project that was especially successful was Space Technology Applied to Rural Papago Advanced Healthcare (STARPAHC). It was funded by the US Government in a partnership between NASA and the Indian Health Services. Remote medical care was provided to astronauts in outer space and to the Native Americans living on the Papago Reservation in Arizona.
Convenience
After over half a century of research and development, telemedicine is a very good option for people who want comprehensive opioid dependence treatment on their own terms. You can have more control over hours of services and, especially with the unjust stigma attached by many to people with addiction disorders, telemedicine allows you total privacy. You can receive the treatment you need from the convenience and privacy of home. If you have a job where you travel, you don’t have to interrupt your treatment schedule because it is available wherever you’re at.
Rapid Access
Telemedicine allows rapid access to help for anyone in New Mexico needing opiate treatment. You do not have to wait weeks to get a doctor’s appointment. You can receive the initial free consultation right away, and our staff of opioid treatment professionals will begin to assess your needs immediately so that you can quickly move towards safety and healing.
Same Day Appointments
Our Care Coordinators will help schedule a first appointment often on the same day.
Get Started Online
Complete your new client forms online to get the process started.
Healthcare Analytics
The most successful treatment methods use proven technology to help determine how to best assist each patient to recover.
Brief Addiction Monitor
Brief Addiction Monitor, or BAM, is an evidence-based assessment tool designed to evaluate addiction and progress in treatment. Using BAM, we can evaluate exactly what help you need to begin recovery and monitor your progress in recovering from Substance Use Disorder (SUD). BAM assessment takes around five minutes and can be done telephonically. We re-administer the evaluation periodically to ensure that you are recovering and, if needed, fine-tune your program to meet your needs.
SOCRATES 8D
The SOCRATES 8D is an evidence-based assessment tool we use to analyze your motivation to recover and willingness to change behaviors that place you in danger of relapsing on opioid use. Many people who relapsed on an opioid have overdosed because after a period of abstinence the body’s tolerance to opioid drugs decreases.
What is Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine is an opioid medication which was recently developed specifically to help people with opioid dependence. It can be administered safely and legally in a clinical setting by your qualified physician. It helps patients to get off the opioid they are addicted to with minimum discomfort and maintain a healthy alternative that is safer to use. The safest Buprenorphine drug is a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone which is sold under the brand name Suboxone©.
Avoid Withdrawals
Because Buprenorphine is a lesser opioid drug, in order to successfully begin Suboxone© treatment you must first abstain from opioid use for 12-24 hours or score 5 to 24 on the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS). If you’ve been taking short acting opioids such as heroin, crushed OxyContin, Percocet or Oxycodone your COWS score must be 5 to 24. For OxyContin you should abstain for 24 hours and your score should be at least 5 but possibly 15. For methadone, you must go through a tapering off process.
Our clinical staff will monitor you throughout the induction phase to ensure that you reach the COWS level to begin Suboxone© treatment safely and with minimum discomfort. The goal is to avoid the danger of precipitated withdrawal from the opioid drug you’ve been using.
Locations
Albuquerque Office #1
6565 Americas Parkway NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87110
(505) 501-7113
Albuquerque Office #2
500 Marquette Avenue
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102
(505) 501-7113
Albuquerque #3
100 Sun Avenue NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 97109
(248) 633-8934
Santa Fe
Office
150 Washington Ave
Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501
(505) 501-7113
I got an appointment the same day!Julie M.
No waitlist, and I could meet with the doctor through the computer. Amazing!James
Insurance and Medicaid
Insurance
Insurance we accept includes:
- Aetna
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- CHRISTUS
- Cigna
- Molina
- New Mexico Health Connections
- Presbyterian
- UnitedHealthcare
If you’re not sure whether we can accept your insurance, call us now for a free consultation at (505) 501-7113.
Medicaid
The opioid epidemic is snowballing across New Mexico, affecting all age groups and demographics. Victims of opioid dependence can get help and recover completely. However, there is a shortage of health care professionals who are qualified to help opioid-dependent patients. New Mexico has been scrambling for a way to serve the millions of victims affected by this disease. Bright Heart Health is one of the few programs accepting Medicaid, including Molina, Presbyterian, and BCBS.