We haven’t seen the worst of COVID-19. As widespread testing begins, we’ll have a better picture of the scope of this crisis in the days ahead. In any event, treatment professionals are battling for the recovery of an increasing number of patients, and to stay safe.
Stress, fear, anxiety…the vulnerability of addiction during a pandemic.
The increased numbers of individuals seeking treatment today seem to align with the stressors that come with a large, frightening social event. As those stressors can drive many deeper into addiction, it can also drive others into treatment. The fear is that those rising numbers may bring a shortage of beds, clinicians, therapists and support staff to help those most in need, the most vulnerable. The fact is, treatment facilities can’t close, or just post a “no vacancy” sign. Lives are at stake. Now more than ever.
No doubt, the current anxiety level in America is directly correlated to the surge in men and women coming into treatment, many for the first time, others the result of a relapse. Jeffrey Fiorentino, Kipu’s CEO said, “We are able to measure Kipu’s total census across about 1,600 treatment facilities. The scale is meaningful because we currently have about 70,000 patients in treatment with nearly a million treatment episodes so far. We’ve spent over a year interfacing Sisense® as our newest BI Tool available to Kipu and it’s clients. We used Sisense to analyze the very large data pool and found that while the second half of March 2019 saw flat to slightly lower total census in Kipu, this year, we’re seeing the number of patients in treatment up in the second half of March, compared to the first half.”
Joe Tuttle, CEO at Banyan Treatment, a Substance Use Disorder treatment company with 11 facilities in 5 states said, “We are getting lots of calls, a marked increase. Our admissions folks are very busy right now.” Banyan Treatment has seen a steady rise in the last six weeks. “With over 22 million people suffering with addiction in the U.S., many who generally work in transient jobs and are finding themselves out of work or furloughed, and deciding that it’s time to seek treatment.”
Fiorentino added: “As things speed up for treatment professionals, new tools will become necessary to provide medical care quickly and remotely. Our HIPAA-secure KipuMessenger, included with the KipuEMR, has been a hero technology, enabling treatment staff to avoid risk — to themselves and their patients — and deliver quality medical care remotely via any smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.” KipuMessenger TeleHealth also gives patients in recovery a human connection. “For a recovering addict who is quarantined, having the reassuring words of a physician can be a tremendous comfort. TeleHealth can do that. It’s the right technology at the right time.” says Fiorentino.
Brian Thorn, COO of Pinnacle Treatment Centers, a leading addiction treatment services provider with more than 110 treatment centers in seven states, agrees, “For people in recovery, human interaction is very important. We build on it in treatment. We’re fighting against addiction of course, but much of the fight now is against an individual’s isolation and the feelings of helplessness it brings. Right now, we’re seeing individuals coming to us for a variety of reasons, including the overall stressors in today’s news that act as triggers for those who are already dealing with the stress of addiction. We’re using telehealth technology to help us with a rise in patient demand for services and we’re able to discuss their situations on a secure platform and pre-admit them or refer them in real time. We simply couldn’t help them as quickly during this time in any other way.”
Sisense CEO, Amir Orad added: “This is a great use case for Sisense. With nearly a million historic episodes of care, Kipu is uniquely positioned to spot trends in treatment as well as generate research data to use technology to improve treatment. We’ve committed free Sisense licenses to Academic Institutions to research addiction in partnership with Kipu and also commit to help Kipu with this important goal. We’re all in on the belief that technology, and specifically Sisense and Kipu is an important lever for improvement in the treatment of addiction, eating disorder, and mental health.”
About Kipu
The Kipu EMR has been specifically designed for facilities treating SUD, Eating Disorders, Behavioral Health and Autism. A fully integrated, end-to-end solution, with full-strength CRM, powerful Business Intelligence, the Gold Standard EMR and Integrated Billing. Includes outcomes measurement tools, Medications 2.0 and more. Trusted by 1,600 facilities worldwide; 80,000 daily users and nearly one million episodes of care.
Contact: Richard Rodriguez
Richard.Rodriguez@Kipu.Health
561-349-5943
Kipu.Health
About Banyan Treatment Centers
Banyan Treatment Center is Joint Commissioned Accredited and stands as a leader in the treatment industry providing quality drug addiction and mental health services. Banyan has 11 locations across the country in Philadelphia, PA, Laurel Run, PA, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Gilman, IL, Boca Raton, FL, Pompano Beach, FL, Stuart, FL, Lake Worth, FL, Palm Beach Shores, FL and now Palm Springs, CA. Banyan provides a full continuum of care including medically managed detox, residential, partial hospitalization, outpatient and alumni services.
Contact:
pr@banyancenters.com
(888) 230-3122
banyantreatmentcenter.com
About Pinnacle Treatment Centers
“Our Goal is to help each of our patients heal so they can return to their lives, families, and communities healthier and full of lasting hope.”
Joe Pritchard, CEO
Headquartered in New Jersey, Pinnacle Treatment Centers is a recognized leader in comprehensive drug and alcohol addiction treatment serving more than 28,000 patients daily in California, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. With more than 110 community-based locations, Pinnacle provides a full continuum of quality care for adult men and women including medically-monitored detoxification/withdrawal management, inpatient/residential treatment, partial hospitalization/care, sober living, intensive and general outpatient programming, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. For more information, visit pinnacletreatment.com or call 800-782-1520.
Contact: Melanie Eilers
melanie.eilers@pinnacletreatment.com
630-806-9925
pinnacletreatment.com
About Sisense
Sisense offers the only independent analytics platform for builders to simplify complex data and build and embed analytic apps that deliver insights to everyone inside and outside their organizations. Sisense lets builders collaborate on a single platform, delivered in a hybrid, cloud-native environment with the industry’s lowest cost of ownership, to create true democratization of data and analytics. More than 2,000 customers across the globe rely on Sisense, including industry leaders like Kipu, Tinder, Philips, Nasdaq, and the Salvation Army.
Contact: Amy Janzen
amy.janzen@sisense.com
917-209-6819
sisense.com
