NAABT no longer hosts the discussion board – instead we link to the all new AddictionSurvivors.org online peer support community. Anyone with an NAABT account will still be able to post under their username and will still have all of their posts on the new forum. AddictionSurvivors.org is a positive, support community that embraces modern evidence-based methods of addiction treatment. Peer support is one of the ancillary services certified buprenorphine physicians are required to have the ability to refer their patients to.

This free recovery support is available to all patients in any phase of their recovery.

Online peer support gives the patient the convenience of 24/7 access and anonymity that isn't afforded in live peer support meetings. In-person groups such as AA/NA provides a sense of community and camaraderie and oftentimes social aspects that the patient may not have been exposed to during active addiction. Optimally, peer support of any type should be used in conjunction with professional psychosocial therapy and sometimes medication. Anonymous online support communities have been shown to be effective at helping people end an addiction and keep it in remission. Look for the Addiction Survivors postcard coming this month!

The NAABT Patient/Physician Matching System (PPMS) turned two years old on September 1st!

Over 13,000 patients have been connected to treatment. These are patients who presumably were unable to find treatment any other way, and might have fallen through the cracks without this resource. It also has helped patients find certified physicians in their area who accept their insurance. The 2,100 participating physician members average 73 patient contacts/day. In total they have sent 55,100 emails to patients offering treatment. This means most patients have several physicians to choose from.

Still, in some parts of the country patients go untreated, namely the Spokane, WA area and most of Vermont. In an attempt to recruit more certified physicians willing to treat the addicted people in these communities, we send out this postcard periodically.

Although this has been effective in other regions of the country, we still have patients unable to get the lifesaving care they need in these two areas.

Counselors and advocates have found the matching system a great resource in helping them place patient with physicians in their community. Clinics that do inductions and stabilization, can easily facilitate a transfer to a private physician with the system.

PPMS Resources:

See how it works with the DEMO version, this allows you to log in as a patient or doctor and use the system in demonstration mode: Click here to try it out.

Physicians:

• "I'm a physician, how do I sign up?"
• Download new physician instruction sheet.
• Map of Patients seeking treatment right now.

How certified physicians increase from the 30 patient limit to 100:

1. You must have submitted your original DATA-2000 waiver at least 1 year ago. (If you are not sure following step 2 will tell you if enough time has elapsed.)
2. Follow this link to SAMHSA and fill out the notification online. Once completing the submission process, there is NO waiting period. You can treat an additional 70 patients from the instant you submit the email confirmation. Alternatively you can fax the notification: Pre-filled form or blank form (Fax: 240-276-1630).

Patients:

• "I'm a patient (or counselor) how do I sign up."
• Matching System Frequently asked questions.
• Map of participating physicians (loads slow – for high-speed internet access only).

Locator
In addition to the matching system, we have the buprenorphine locator. Simply type in your zip code and get the closest:

• Certified physicians
• Medication assisted treatment counselors/therapists
• Pharmacies that stock buprenorphine
• Treatment centers (as provided by SAMHSA)
• Ongoing or upcoming studies near you
• Live peer support meetings near you

Click here to check it out. You can also print the list for yourself or a patient, with the easy "print this page link".

NAABT Public Service Announcement (PSA)

Look for our Public Service Announcement (PSA) "Mike’s Story" due out this Fall. We filmed it in August, and it is in post-production now. The aim is to help fight the stigma associated with addiction disorders and let people know that they might find help with their doctor.

We are planning three versions of the PSA with accompanying webisodes (short films that continue the story touched on in the PSA) which will be hosted on NAABT.org, MySpace, YouTube, iTunes and Addiction survivors.org, to name a few.

Dr. Richard Gracer's radio show online.

Dr. Richard Gracer, author of A New Prescription for Addiction, also has a weekly radio show, A New Prescription for Health with Dr. Richard Gracer. On 6/19/08 Dr. Gracer's guest was Tim Lepak, President and co-founder of the National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment. (www.naabt.org). The naabt.org "website is instrumental for educating patients and health care providers on the benefits of this groundbreaking treatment for opiate addiction. naabt.org sponsors a matching system for patients and physicians, as well as for counselors, who are skilled in buprenorphine treatment." – quote from Dr. Gracers’s website.Click here to play the radio show on your computer or download the mp3 to your iPod. You can also visit Dr. Gracer's website at: www.gracermedicalgroup.com

"The Recovery Month effort aims to promote the societal benefits of alcohol and drug use disorder treatment, laud the contributions of treatment providers and promote the message that recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders in all its forms is possible." – RecoveryMonth.gov

Click here for more information and for Recovery Month events near you.

The FREE NAABT Resource Kit. Along with pertinent hardcopy literature,
included is a CD which contains many of the files on our Literature Page, plus over 300 other files – including an off-line version of naabt.org, past newsletters, laws, research, emergency wallet card and much more. Click here to request one.

Email for bulk quantities:
MakeContact@naabt.org.

Counselors – Counselors can sign up for inclusion on the NAABT Counselor locator at www.CounselorList.org

Patients – We have over 900 participating counselors in 49 states who understand the benefits and challenges of medication-assisted treatments for addiction.

Click here to find a counselor near you.

HBO "Addiction" Series.
HBO is currently re-airing segments of last year's award winning documentary "Addiction" If you don't want to wait or don't have HBO you can watch all of the segments on your computer by visiting the website. Besides the videos the educational portion of the site has a tremendous amount of recent science on addiction.

If you are a certified physician please be sure your information is correct on the physician locator. Please check for spelling and correct phone number. You can now update your own contact
information.

If you have given permission to post contact information in the Buprenorphine Physician and Treatment Program Locator, the information will be updated there too. Use this link to go to the update form.

If you know of a colleague who is on the list but should not be due to no longer practicing, please advise by calling: 1-866-287-2728 or emailing: info@buprenorphine.samhsa.gov

Voluntary Disclosure: Some of the funding for this organization is provided by anonymous donors whose lives were touched by evidence-based addiction treatment and were willing to help support our mission. NAABT, Inc. has also accepted funding from pharmaceutical companies in the form of "Unrestricted Educational Grants." The grants are "unrestricted" so that there are no "strings" attached. NAABT, Inc. has complete control over how the funds are used, there are no restrictions on the content or mission of this site, and donors have no control over the content of the site or NAABT's activities. NAABT, Inc. is solely responsible for all of its activities.

Click here to learn more about NAABT.