A study in Oregon found that people who suffer from both mental illness and drug addiction have trouble finding health care providers who can treat both.
A collaborative study by Oregon State University and the Oregon State University School of Public Health commissioned by the Oregon Health Authority found that people with both conditions, known as co-morbidities, often must overcome barriers to care, from long wait times to a shortage of providers who accept Medicare, which primarily covers older adults, and Medicaid, which covers lower-income Oregonians.
the study A study culling provider data found that 82% of mental health providers and 40% of addiction treatment providers have the ability to treat co-occurring disorders. The study didn’t break down how many people are receiving treatment or not receiving it, but it noted gaps throughout the system.
Beyond the overall numbers, the survey also found differences between providers.
These include:
- Only half of mental health providers offer combined treatment for mental illness and addictions by the same clinician or treatment team.
- Both conditions are unlikely to be treated in hospitals or inpatient substance use treatment facilities that tend to treat more seriously ill patients.
- Only about half of treatment providers treat gambling disorders.
- Many medical facilities do not accept Medicare or Medicaid, meaning patients may not be able to pay for treatment.
The study also cited labor shortages as a contributing factor to the lack of dually trained professionals.
Provider Perspective
One provider offering both services in Southwest Oregon is Adapt Integrated Healthcare. The nonprofit provides primary mental health and addiction treatment in Douglas, Coos, Curry and Josephine counties. Its roughly 600 staff members provide services including counseling, drug treatment and primary care.
“We’re able to partner with primary care, mental health and substance use disorder treatment,” said Tom Sorrells, Adapt’s director of substance use disorder treatment. “These services can work together under the same roof very easily.”
At the same time, he says, it’s hard to find professionals trained to treat both mental health and substance use disorders. Professionals who can treat both typically have master’s degrees, but because they are relatively few and far between, they’re among the hardest to recruit, he says. By comparison, certified alcohol and drug counselors, a field that’s also in demand, don’t require a master’s degree.
“It’s not like we’re struggling to the point where we have to restrict or limit services or access,” he said. “They’re all healthy and they’re staying open, but at the same time, we’re obviously not operating at full capacity with our staff.”
He said the challenge is not just staffing, but also reaching out to those who need help.
“These are typically the most vulnerable people,” he said. “In our society, in the counties that we operate in, they’re hidden. They’re underserved. It’s very difficult to even identify who needs our help unless they show up at our door with some insight and resources.”
For parents seeking to reunite with their children, some patients are referred through the criminal justice system or the Oregon Department of Human Services, but others must figure it out on their own.
“Unfortunately, a significant percentage of our population is underserved,” he said.
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