Routine Patient Process

What To Expect

At Medical Resource Center, patients will follow a specific process briefly described below

Intake:
After being given a comprehensive substance dependence assessment, mental evalutation, and physical exam, the physician and patient will discuss the treatment protocol and long term goals in depth. Counseling and behavioral therapy is also strongly encouraged. Furthermore, many insurance companies require counseling as a prerequisite to cover addiction treatment medications.

Induction:
Patients will be switched from the opiate of misuse to an appropriate addiction treatment medication. Patients must be in a moderate state of withdrawal upon arrival for their first office appointment. Ideally, one should be opiate free for 48 hours before beginning treatment. Patients switching from daily maintenance medications should be opiate free for 72 hours after first tapering down to at least 30mg. Patients switching from a comparable program will be able to continue treatment and take their dose on the same day.

Stabilization and Maintenance:
The physician will adjust the dosage to determine an effective level for each patient.

Tapering:
The dose of the maintenance medication will be slowly decreased until the patient is opiate free. Tapering will be attempted generally after the patient has been in treatment for approximately one year. However, tapering may be considered earlier if both the patient and physician mutually agree. Ultimately, our goal is to comfortably taper our patients until they feel confident enough about their recovery to lead healthy, productive lives.