A Review of Ohio's Treatment Capacity in Addressing the State's Opiate Epidemic

Ohio is currently in the midst of an opiate epidemic. Persons seeking treatment for opiate addiction are now inundating treatment centers in every region of the state. To understand further the capacity of Ohio’s treatment system to address the needs of opiate abusing and dependent clients, the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) surveyed all treatment providers regarding service wait times and treatment barriers. Nearly 80 percent of providers statewide participated (N = 193). Results concluded that the proportion of clients accessing services across Ohio with an opiate abuse/dependence diagnosis has increased over the past 12 months. Almost a third of providers reported that opiate addicted clients now make up more than a quarter of all clients served. The state’s current treatment system is challenged in addressing the needs of Ohio’s rapidly increasing number of opiate addicted clients. Nearly 80 percent of providers reported wait times for assessment services; providers most frequently reported wait times of several weeks for residential treatment; and practically half of referring providers to Suboxone®, and the majority of those referring to methadone programs, indicated difficulty in getting clients enrolled in medication-assisted treatment, citing capacity issues such as no program openings for methadone and lack of licensed physicians for Suboxone®. The opiate epidemic has increased wait times for treatment services across the state, further straining Ohio's treatment capacity in an already challenged behavioral healthcare system. New policies are needed to expand treatment capacity and to limit nonmedical use of prescription opiates.