STAY STRONG
Getting Addiction Medicine During the Era of COVID-19
How to get addiction medication?
When COVID-19 struck, I was inundated with calls to my office from patients who were fearful. These patients are patients who are involved in picking up medications daily from a clinic to help them recover from addiction. I was so relieved that I could tell each of these patients, don't worry, we are here to help you, and the forum that that help took was amazing to me. Very quickly, patients who were going daily could now get their medication on a weekly basis. Patients that maybe were going weekly could get it on a monthly basis. In some cases, instead of going to a clinic to get their treatment, the clinic came to their door and delivered their medications. The unprecedented challenges by COVID-19 have been met by an unprecedented effort by health systems led by Montefiore Health System to help people recover. We were one of the first health systems in this country that offered daily medication for addiction. That same pioneering spirit that my predecessors had continues to this day. Montefiore Health System has allowed thousands of patients to graduate from daily treatment to monthly treatment and beyond. We now offer new medications that folks only have to come once a month. In some cases, once every three months to help them stay in recovery. I myself have seen hundreds of patients regain lives that they lost, regain relationships that they thought they would never regain. COVID-19 has been a challenging time for all of us. COVID-19 has also been a time where unprecedented numbers of people can get treatment for addiction and they are, and I hope that you will become one of them or if one of your family members needs it, that they will become one of them, and I hope that together, we will help each other stay strong.