Selling care: Patient brokering in addiction treatment

Ambulance-chasing. Society generally looks on with disgust at the attorney who markets directly to the accident victim in the hours after the ink on the police blotter dries. The practice isn't illegal, but it brings up the subject of ethics. A similar practice has smoldered silently in the addiction care business for the last decade and will be leading to more scrutiny – and crackdown – over the second half of 2016.

Treatment centers provide a service (detox, intensive outpatient, inpatient, partial hospitalization, or some combination of elements) for a fee, which is charged to the client or the client's insurer. It's America. Lawyers charge a fee in a time of need. Mutual fund companies charge a fee to manage the retirement money upon which you'll develop a need. Lawyers are regulated. Fund companies and their sales reps are regulated and supervised. The practice is largely unregulated in the treatment industry.

The ambulance chaser in the addiction care business solicits business in 12-step meetings and detox facilities and even emergency rooms. There are reputable recovery coaches and other addiction paraprofessionals in the service of those struggling with substance abuse who also attend to those venues and offer suggestions. When they are paid by a treatment entity to deliver those struggling heads to the facility's beds is the point in which the practice becomes predatory.

Take for example, Alcoholic Joe. Joe turns up in the emergency department, unconscious due to acute intoxication. (e.g., he's beyond drunk) A responsive ER staff will inquire about what he's had, how much, and how frequently. Maybe even a social worker or staff associate will address the possibility that Joe has a substance use disorder and suggest courses of action beyond the hospital's capability. Other resources may be given to Joe, if he inquires. He takes it to heart (or his wife does) and Joe goes to a 12-step meeting.

So far, so good. When Joe bumps into a counselor, a self-styled recovery guru or a fellow at the meeting, the conversation sometimes turns to treatment. If the person steering the conversation toward a facility is getting paid $1,000 or $5,000 a head to steer Joe toward that facility – and never discloses he or she is on the dole – is where the industry is getting its latest black eye.

It's not unfamiliar territory for the healthcare biz. Rewind the tape back to the early 90's when physicians were accepting elaborate junkets from pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers. The public bristled when the kickback exposed that the patient might not be getting the best medication or device for his condition, just possibly the medication or device offered by the company with the sweetest “conference” destination. In the early 2000's a similar practice in the mutual fund business was discontinued when fund companies were found to have influence over brokers who might not be offering the most suitable investment for the client, just the funds that landed on the “preferred list” because of the extras offered the broker or brokerage firm.

As the opioid epidemic continues to grow within the shadow of the alcohol pandemic, more treatment centers are opening. Which can only be considered a good thing if they are treating the patient and not the one who provided the patient. As start-up facilities – and some established ones – struggle to keep cashflow manageable, a pay-per-client (heads-in-beds) can be an attractive alternative to shelling out for a marketer's salary and benefits. A captive marketer is going to work for one facility or group of facilities. He or she may not have a component of their compensation based on the census of the facility (e.g. percentage of beds filled at a given time). But they are, in theory, still driven by getting the right fit between the client and the facility. Many even network with other centers' marketing staff and refer business to the right fit based on the cost, insurance and most importantly the client's needs. When a consultant makes a referral without accountability to the facility or for the outcome of the treatment for that client, but for what it appears to be the financial gain of a $5,000 payday over a $1,000 payday, the treatment industry's self-policing has a weakness.

There is no inference that every per-client marketer or treatment facility that employs the tactic is sketchy. As with any enterprise, there are scrupulous and unscrupulous sales people. This industry is no exception even though it is commonly referred to as a helping profession which comes in contact with families and clients during a real and human and emotionally charged crisis.

In the early part of this decade, healthcare officials as well as federal agencies have had the practice show up on their radars. In some cases, the fit between the client and facility or program was so poor, litigation ensued. In extreme cases, people have relapsed and/or died while in the care of a program. Not that the relapse is uncommon with the disease of addiction to alcohol or other drugs… it's not a welcome outcome in or shortly after treatment.

For now, the status quo is under greatest scrutiny in California and Florida, two treatment industry hotbeds. However the status quo remains as a practice that is not illegal – like ambulance chasing – just potentially unethical until greater oversight and guidance is provided. For the time being, it pays to ask a question if and how a person is being compensated for making a recommendation of one facility over another.

The entire 26 episode HD The A-Files: Alcohol A-Z series is available on disc, along with fact sheets, for helping professions. Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Another interview is on Alcohol Awareness.  Syndicated radio program Savvy Central Radio did this interview, too. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today. Stevens also is the public relations officer with AddictedMinds.com