Confidently Under Attack

National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

Press Release

Contact Person:
Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director, edirector@methadoe.org

Phone/Fax: 1 (212) 595-NAMA (1-212-595-6262)

For Release:
September 16, 2019

Confidently Under Attack

(We Are in for the Fight of Our Lives)

SAMHSA has posted two notices of proposed rulemaking (“NPRMs”) on the federal regulations for the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records.

They were published August 26, 2019 in the Federal Register.  Note the comment deadlines for each rule:

NPRM – Regulatory Information Number 0930-AA30:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/26/2019-17816/confidentiality-of-substance-use-disorder-patient-records

Deadline for submitting public comments: by 5 pm September 25, 2019

NPRM – Regulatory Information Number 0930-AA32:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/26/2019-17817/confidentiality-of-substance-use-disorder-patient-records

Deadline for submitting public comments: by 5 pm October 25, 2019

Number 0930-AA30 public comments must be submitted by September 25, 2019 by 5 pm.

Here is a summary of the main changes that are acceptable:

Consent Requirements: Patients may consent to release without naming a specific person to apply for benefits and resources (i.e. SSI)

Disclosures Permitted w/ Written Consent: Payment and health care operations are permitted with written consent.

Medical Emergencies: Patient information may be released during declared emergencies without consent.

Audit and Evaluation: To resolve current ambiguity, part 2 will be revised to clarify some situations that fall within the scope.

Here is a summary of the main changes that are NOT acceptable:

Applicability and Re-Disclosure: Patient’s records in non-part 2 providers both previous and current are no longer covered.

NAMA-R thinks this is unacceptable and that Part 2 records needs to maintain the protection that they have always had.

Disposition of Records: Part 2 program employees may delete a patient message sent to them on their personal device. 

NAMA-R does not believe Part 2 employees should be using their personal devices for program business. Part 2 programs should set aside the funds to purchase mobile phones for employees.

Disclosures to Central Registries and PDMPs: Non-OTP providers may query a Central Registry to determine if patients are receiving opioid treatment elsewhere. OTPs will be permitted to enroll in PDMPs when prescribing Schedule II to V, consistent with applicable state law.

NAMA-R believes Central Registries are an important part of the treatment system, as they have been for over 40 years, and can be utilized in ways that protect Confidentiality.  However, reporting medication dispensed by OTPs to state prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) would violate the specific consent requirements of 42 USC 290dd-2. Furthermore, it gives criminal justice agencies access to persons involved in substance use treatment.  This could discourage individuals with OUD from seeking treatment. Law enforcement accesses PDMPs at a very high frequency. Many states do not require a warrant or subpoena for law enforcement access of this highly sensitive information. This is a very low bar.

Research: Research may be conducted by HIPAA entities or business associate to individuals and organizations who are not HIPAA entities, nor subject to the Common Rule (re: Research on Human Subjects).

NAMA-R supports research involving patients of SUD treatment as long as confidentiality protections remain in place. These proposed changes will allow research into OTPs in a way that opens the door for entities to do marketing research and otherwise violate a patient’s civil right to confidentiality.

Confidential Communications: To correct an error from the 2017 rule-making, the “standard for court ordered disclosures of SUD records for the purpose of investigating "an extremely serious crime" will be revised, by dropping the phrase "allegedly committed by the patient."

NAMA-R opposes the proposed changes to this section. For over forty years, Part 2 has protected people who have sought treatment for alcohol and drug use from having their own records used against them in courts, unless it is a case of serious violence or child abuse. It has never been intended that our SUD treatment records be used in cases of "drug trafficking" against a patient, or another person. People seek treatment to recover from substance use disorders, to change their lives, and believe that the private information they share will be confidential and protected. One must recall that Part 2 was implemented over a murder that a community person thought was committed by a patient at an OTP. The community member was wrong.

Undercover Agents and Informants: Court-ordered placement of an undercover agent or informant within a part 2 program will be extended to a period of 12 months, and courts will be authorized to extend the period through a new court order.

NAMA-R believes that there is no place for informants in Part 2 programs. Allowing this will frighten prospective patients from treatment during a time of crisis and will obliterate the confidentiality protections required by 42 USC 290dd-2.

SAMHSA does not have the authority to implement regulations that override the U.S. Code and legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President. Only Congress and the President can change legislative requirements enshrined in the U.S. Code. SAMHSA, as an Executive Branch agency, does not have the Constitutional authority to implement changes in 42 CFR Part 2 that override or otherwise attempt to invalidate core requirements and provisions of 42 USC 290dd-2.

In context of pervasive stigma and criminalization, patients need MORE privacy protections for people who use drugs, not less. Better integration between behavioral, mental, and other health info is necessary to improve care. Giving up privacy to get there is not a necessary trade-off.

The PDMP provision is a MAJOR fundamental change that threatens the essential framework of 42 CFR Part 2 and likely would result in unconstitutional executive overreach by SAMHSA that would override consent requirements required by 42 USC 290dd-2.

When an individual seeks treatment, they are acknowledging highly stigmatized and criminalized behavior. Drug use is subject to enormous negative consequences, including criminal liability, parental rights, housing, life insurance and other benefits. Confidentiality currently afforded by 42 CFR Part 2 protects patients from this discrimination.

The major function of Part 2 is to create relatively high bar on data access for law enforcement to assuage patient concerns about surveillance and their information being used against them. HIPAA provides no patient protection against law enforcement access of SUD treatment records.

What Should You Do?

What to Expect

This is called a New Proposed Rule Making (NPRM). The agency that oversees the regulations begins by posting a Comment Period.  Usually it is 90 days to give everyone the opportunity to write their comments.  SAMHSA only gave 30 days for Regulatory Information Number 0930-AA30 and 60 days for Regulatory Information Number 0930-AA32. The standard has always been a 90 day public commenting period, especially when there are significant changes.

Links to the pdf file proposing the NPRMs is at the beginning and comments can be submitted there.

Everyone that is a patient or an advocate for patients should comment. You can copy from this Press Release or write your own. And your comment can be as simple as:

“I am a patient (or advocate for patients) and this NPRM should not be implemented. Patients in Part 2 programs have been promised that their information is protected. What will they be told if these changes are made?  These changes are significant enough to make any therapeutic alliance between patients and Part 2 programs difficult.

Patients need MORE protection.

Signed Your Name”

Additional support around commenting with a direct hyperlink to the commenting website, as well as specifics between the two NRPMs, can be found here: 

https://www.fightforpatientrights.org/comment-now

If you are concerned about signing your name you could write, “I am afraid to sign my name because of the discrimination I’ve experienced.”

More Information:

AATOD, NAMA Concerned About Law Enforcement Threats to Patient Confidentiality

SAMHSA to Drop SUD Treatment Confidentiality Rule, Because “Times Change”

SAMHSA Ushers in Law Enforcement “Fishing Expeditions” for MAT Patients


The Fundamentals of Part 2 (Legal Action Center)

SAMHSA to Propose Changes to 42 CFR Part 2

Fight for Patient’s Rights - Dr. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH and Danielle Tarino, MA

FLYER

CALL TO ACTION

Leave Comment on 

SAMHSA’s Confidentiality Proposals

The federal confidentiality law and regulations protect the privacy of substance use disorder (SUD) patient records by prohibiting unauthorized disclosures of patient records except in limited circumstances. Congress enacted the legislation in the 1970s to encourage individuals with SUDs to enter and remain in treatment. 42 USC § 290dd-2 is the law. The regulations implementing the law are at 42 CFR (Code of FederalRegulations) Part 2 and are commonly referred to as “Part 2.” Core protections against law enforcement and re-disclosure are just as critical today as they were in the 1970s.

PART 2 is UNDER ATTACK. The Trump Administration’s HHS Secretary Alex Azar and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Elinore McCanze-Katz are overseeing two separate “Notices of Proposed Rule Making” (NPRM) that seek to obliterate the core confidentiality protections of Part 2. This one pager contains core concerns around each NPRM with a direct link to leave Public Comment.

NPRM #1: Proposal 0930-AA30                              COMMENTS DUE by 9/25/19 at 5pm Eastern!

• Would allow personal health information to be shared outside the healthcare system for criminal justice purposes & allow law enforcement “fishing expeditions” in patient records to prosecute individuals enrolled in treatment or use patient records to prosecute others;
• This proposed change is not in line with the best interests of patients seeking treatment for substance use disorders, and it goes against the fundamental reason for 42 CFR Part2;
• These changes will deter people from seeking care out of fear of law enforcement involvement & encourage those enrolled in treatment to leave prematurely;
• It has never been intended in any iteration of Part 2 that SUD treatment records be used in cases of "drug trafficking" against a patient, or another person. SAMHSA should not implement these proposed changes that have the potential to worsen the opioid crisis & deter individuals with OUD from seeking treatment.

COMMENT HERE: https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=HHS-OS-2019-0010-0001

NPRM #2: Proposal 0930-AA32                             COMMENTS DUE by 10/25/19 at 5pm Eastern!

• Applicability and Re-Disclosure: Patient’s records in non-part 2 providers both previous and current are no longer covered. This is unacceptable, as re-disclosure protections are critical to the core confidentiality protections and purposes of Part 2.
• Disclosures to Central Registries and PDMPs: This is one of the most frightening proposals that would obliterate the consent requirement of 42 USC 290dd-2 and allow any individual with a login to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) to access information regarding an individual’s SUD treatment without their consent. NO SUD treatment information, including SUD treatment medications, should be uploaded into the PDMP. Law enforcement routinely accesses PDMPs in many states. This issue should not be “kicked” to the states, as core civil rights should always be protected federally.
• Undercover Agents and Informants: Court-ordered placement of an undercover agent or informant within a Part 2 program will be allowed for a period of 12 months. There is no place for informants in SUD treatment programs. Allowing this will frighten prospective & current patients from treatment during a time of crisis and will obliterate the confidentiality protections required by 42 USC 290dd-2.

COMMENT HERE: https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=HHS-OS-2019-0011-0001

Download Press Release

Download Part 2 Comment Flyer

Letter to U.S. Congress

House of Representatives and Senate

U.S. Congress

Capitol Hill

Washington, D.C.

Dear Congresspersons and Senators:

The National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery is an organization of medication assisted treatment (MAT) patients and health care professionals supporting quality health care.

Currently the United States is in the midst of a serious opioid epidemic.  Every attempt should be made to encourage individuals with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) to enter treatment.  Patients concerns about entering treatment such as privacy are not being considered. Instead, insurance companies, EHR vendors, profit hungry health care networks and others  interested in whose interest is in profit from individuals suffering from alcohol use disorders and drug use disorders propose to make substance use disorder treatment unappealing by gutting  42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2, the federal substance use disorder confidentiality law and regulations. 

You will be asked to vote for legislation that will diminish a person’s confidentiality and that MAT patients take very seriously.  Please do not take this protection from us.

The opponents of the current 42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2, claim that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is sufficient. But, they know that HIPAA offers less confidentiality protection than the current federal substance use disorder confidentiality law and regulations.  Less protection means a greater risk of harm from disclosure for those in treatment or in Recovery. 

In fact, the limitations to confidentiality protection offered by HIPAA’s exceptions to confidentiality will certainly discourage those with a substance use disorder to postpone, delay or refuse to acknowledge that they have a substance use disorder.

Most MAT patients are not aware of the attack on their confidentiality that they have trusted and believed in since entering treatment. We do not have powerful lobbyists in Washington to make inaccurate arguments (i.e. 1. health care will be safer, 2. patients are not concerned with confidentiality, 3. it is necessary to be able to know if a patient is in SUD treatment). 

Vote No On Changing 

42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2

Aligning 42 CFR Part 2 with HIPAA and by ignoring the potential harm caused by weakening 42 CFR Part 2, only those with the most severe substance use disorders will seek treatment. It will also force many currently in treatment to leave resulting in placing them at great risk of relapse and adding to current opioid overdose epidemic. The more stability a MAT patient attains the more they have to lose if there SUD is known.  

In 2017, 20 million people met criteria for SUDs, BUT only 2.5 million of these received treatment. Why?

Not because of 42 CFR Part 2, but because 94% of those who needed SUD treatment but did not receive treatment did not feel they needed treatment. 

This percentage will rise even higher when it becomes known that those receiving SUD treatment will not be able to decide who has access to their SUD treatment information.  Upon admission to SUD treatment the program explains the many exceptions to confidentiality that HIPAA permits. This information go out to the streets and many people will decide that help for their SUD is not worth it. They will believe they can “kick it” on their own, but if that were true they would not need help.

Because of discrimination, stigma, and negative attitudes about those with SUDs, people in Recovery have enough barriers to employment that pays a living wage, housing that protects against the elements, and social support that does not alienate them for having suffered the disease of SUD.  Even decent medical care is difficult and once their treatment for a SUD is known they are often treated as second class citizen patients. Allowing a person’s history of SUD treatment to be disclosed without their consent increases their social disadvantage. HIPAA permits such an unconsented disclosure to a broad range of entities.

Congress has appropriated billions of dollars to address the opioid crisis and to promote SUD treatment.  Please do not waste this investment by scaring away the very people those dollars were meant to help! Insurance companies, EHR vendors and profit hungry health care networks claim a need for better care coordination; they aren’t treating the vast majority of people with substance use disorders. And from our experience they do not want to treat persons with a SUD.  A change in 42 USC 290dd-2, and they’ll be treating even fewer people.  

There are technological fixes already in existence that would allow health information sharing while protecting the ability of those who need treatment to determine who should have access to their health information.

Software vendors have argued that there are no financial incentives to incorporate these patient centered fixes into proprietary platforms. In fact, the federal government sponsored the development of just such fixes.  The software market place finds it cheaper and easier to sacrifice the autonomy of the unpowerful and the poor, rather than make the necessary change to their software. 

An estimated 20 million Americans have recovered from alcohol and drug related problems.  With the proposed changes in 42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2, many people in Recovery will find themselves subject to inappropriate information disclosures; no longer will People in Recovery have to be consulted before their SUD histories be disclosed to entities with the power to harm the affected individuals.

While insurers and cost-cutting health networks are attempting to deny people in Recovery the ability to determine who gets the information about prior alcohol or drug use disorders, the rest of society is marshalling resources to protect their personal information against misuse.  An example of privacy vigilance can be found in the New York Times “The Privacy Project”, which acknowledges that companies and governments “are gaining new powers to follow people across the internet and around the world, and even to peer into their genomes.”  

Creating a new path to stigmatize people in Recovery or in SUD treatment is unconscionable. Effective SUD treatment requires trust between provider and patient; in the absence of trust, full disclosure of such issues as trauma, rape, abuse, depression, anxiety, anger, discrimination or other sensitive issues that may be linked to substance use is not possible.  Without trust, there will be no truth.  

Men and women bring a host of highly sensitive personal issues into treatment.  Without the assurance of confidentiality that the current 42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2 promises, it will become very difficult for treatment to progress; such treatment will become adversarial at worse and a game at best.  As a result, treatment will be hindered and Recovery delayed.

The current opioid crisis is being used as a justification for gutting 42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2.  More people, currently misuse alcohol than currently misuse opioids. While it is estimated that 3.5 million people currently misuse opioids, 2.2 million misuse cocaine, 774,000 are current users of methamphetamine, 16.7 million are heavy alcohol users, and 66.6 million are binge alcohol drinkers. More people are in treatment for alcohol use disorders than for all illicit drug use disorders. While opioid overdose deaths are an important public health issue, promoting person centered SUD treatment that involves patient consent to disclosure is also important.

Protect Our Confidentiality Keep 42 CFR Part 2 As Is

Protect Patient Autonomy - Nurture Patient Clinician Trust

Encourage Treatment Seeking

Preserve Patient’s Right To Decide

Using the current opioid crisis as a reason to change federal substance use disorder confidentiality laws and regulations is merely an excuse to reduce the cost and effort of treatment a goal they have been after for after a decade.  These anti 42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2 entities do not care about the difficulties that persons in Recovery face. Neither are they concerned with the further discrimination against people who need help recovering from their substance use.

Please use your vote to encourage people to enter treatment, Vote NO on legislation that would weaken 42 USC 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2.

Sincerely,

Joycelyn Sue Woods, M.A., C.A.R.C., C.M.A.

Acting President

Download PDF Letter
http://www.methadone.org/downloads/namaletters/2019 0726NAMAR congress.pdf

NAMA Recovery Calls on Federal and State Officials to Help Patients Get Medication During Tropical Storm Barry

National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

Press Release

Contacts Persons: 

Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director, edirector@methadone.org

Phone/Fax: 1 212-595-NAMA (1-212-595-6262)

For Release

July 11, 2019

NAMA Recovery and our chapters have begun to receive calls and messages from Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) patients in the areas affected by Tropical Storm Barry. 

The majority of clinics are giving medication through Sunday, July 14, 2019 when weather reports are predicting severe flooding following the storm. Patients are reporting that they are not being given medication because they cannot pay for it.

There are some clinics that are already experiencing flooding in the surrounding areas making it impossible to get there.

The Southeastern NAMA-R Chapter is in ongoing Communication with Louisiana and surrounding state authorities, and they are welcome to reach out to us and watch our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NAMARecoverywww.facebook.com/NAMARecovery if they have any questions or need support.  (Or our Southeast Chapter https://www.facebook.com/groups/NAMARecoveryTN/

This should not be a repeat of Katrina when every clinic is the New Orleans area was flooded and patients were not able to get medication for a week or more.

This is the responsibility of the Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Veterans Administration (VA) and state agencies to have disaster plans in place for when emergencies occur.  (The SAMHSA Disaster App is not working giving the message that it is downloading information and then tells you to try back later. In a disaster you can’t try back later.) It appears that the New Orleans area may again have a disaster in the making that could have been avoided if agencies had come up with a solution following the Katrina disaster.

 RE: Clinic Information About Tropical Storm Barry in New Orleans Area

Date:  7/11/2019

This is the latest information we have on New Orleans clinics. It is from NASADAD’s Disaster Preparedness List.  Please check for updates on our FaceBook Page  https://www.facebook.com/NAMARecovery .   Or our Southeast Chapter     https://www.facebook.com/groups/NAMARecoveryTN/

BHG Lake Charles:  Open today & giving take home doses for Friday and Saturday.

BHG Downtown New Orleans:  Expected water by this afternoon because every street near them has flooded (see media).  WDSU (local television station) has let their employees leave.

BHG Greta:  Expected water this afternoon.

BAART Breau Bridge:  Regular hours today & Friday issuing take home doses. Closed Saturday & Sunday.

Acadiana Baton Rouge:  Today until 11 am, Friday 5:15 – 8 am, Sat 6:30 – 8 (this clinic didn’t flood in 2016 but was surrounded by water).

Centers for Behavioral Health Monroe & Shreveport:  Supportive role for guest doses at their clinics & have been advised of possibility of shelters.

Choices all 3 clinics (Alexandria, LaPlace & Hammond):  Extended hours today (7/11/19) & all 3 clinics open tomorrow until 10 am.  Saturday will assess. Alexandria Saturday 7-9 am. (LaPlace & Hammond didn’t flood in 2016).  All 3 of Choices clinics have industrial generators.

NAMA-R has received reports that some clinics are not giving patient’s emergency medication unless they pay for it.  Barry seems to be picking up strength and may become a Hurricane 1 storm. There is also severe flooding expected after and it seems reasonable to get medication through Tuesday, 7/16/19.

Carmen Beatrice Pearman Arlt, LMSW, CAC, CMA 1955 – 2019

National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

Press Release

Contacts Persons: 

Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director, edirector@methadone.org

Carmen Pearman-Arlt, President, carlt@porterstarke.org♰

Phone/Fax: 1.212.595.NAMA  (1-212-595-62620

For Release

May 6, 2019

64, passed away December 9, 2018 after a long illness.

In the early 1990s NAMA Recovery was mailed an index card with dimes taped to it and a short message saying they could not afford $10 for membership and this was all they had.  It was Carmen Pearman. Like all letters we receive from patients she received a letter back saying that we would rather have her advocacy than money. 

  

Carmen organized one of our oldest chapters The MAG (Methadone Advocacy Group). One of the things the group decided to do was clean the street around their clinic.  While they were out picking up garbage and sweeping the street when the Reverend from the church across the street came out to warn them about those addicts over there. Carmen explained that they were those addicts. From this encounter patients were given space in the church to set up 12 step groups and to have meetings. The following year there was a big drug conference In Indiana and the chapter acted as the color guard for the governor when he entered the arena. I remember Carmen sending a picture of them all dressed in white shirts, navy bow ties for women and regular ties for men and navy pants.

Carmen went back to school and earned an MSW and was continuing her education a PhD in social work when she became ill.

She received the Dole Nyswander Award (Marie) in 2001 for organizing the state provider organization. The state of Indiana had no representation and clinics saw each other more as competitors than associates working for a common cause. She helped to establish the clinics in their current state organization.

The past few years she developed the program for women and children at Porter Starke (Valparaiso, IN) in addition to being President of NAMA Recovery.

She resided in Hanna, Indiana and is survived by two sons: David and Erich and three great-grandchildren.

NAMA Recovery will miss Ms. Pearman’s  dedication and compassion to patients and the field.

(Information for this Press Release was published in the Post Tribune on Feb. 10, 2019.)

Support NAMA Recovery – become a Member

Herman Joseph, PhD 1931 – 2019

National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

Press Release

Contacts Persons: 

Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director, edirector@methadone.org

Carmen Pearman-Arlt, President, carlt@porterstarke.org♰

Phone/Fax: 1.212.595.NAMA  (1-212-595-6262)

For Release

May 6, 2019

Dr. Joseph was one of the important influences on addiction and criminal justice during the latter 20th and early 21st century.  For more than 50 years he has worked as a social research scientist in the interrelated fields of addiction, treatment, criminal justice, street studies, homelessness, basic research and program development at the NYC Office of Probation, the Rockefeller University and the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS).

In the early 1970’s Dr. Joseph negotiated services, both personnel and facilities and developed in a citywide network of five probation methadone clinics. In these programs he developed the first vocational guidance and employment service for unemployed probationers, and, with the NYC Department of Health, the first urine testing service in probation. These initiatives changed heroin addiction from an intractable problem for probation into a manageable issue. He was a member of the team that developed the first ‘in jail’ methadone maintenance program, known as KEEP, for addicted prisoners in Rikers Island Jail; an intervention that has been implemented across many countries throughout the world.

In the mid-1970s Dr. Joseph joined Dr. Vincent P. Dole at The Rockefeller University to plan, conduct and supervise the first detailed large-scale follow-up study of patients who left methadone treatment (Dole and Joseph, 1978).

In the mid 1980’s he joined the NY State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and a member of the research team. During the AIDS epidemic prisoners that were drug users and HIV positive were put in an old building at Riker’s Island.  The building was awful. The windows were sealed and temperatures rose in he Summer and during he cold months there was often no heat, it was infested with roaches and rats and sometimes the inmates did not get their medication.  Dr. Joseph and other OASAS employees brought bagels to the inmates every Saturday morning. Eventually the group went on a Food Strike to get the attention of the city and the result was a new building.  

He organized the Crack Cocaine Research Working Group, later known as the Chemical Dependency Research Working Group (CDRWG) in the mid-1990s with the support of grants from the Aaron Diamond Foundation. Dr. Joseph organized a series of symposia and conferences covering major aspects of addiction, research and treatment, including a consortium of major medical centers to study neonates exposed to cocaine/crack in utero. Other projects and studies included addressing the HIV epidemic in NYC including: the need for harm reduction services and the spread of HIV, HBV and HCV among street/homeless population who used shelters, soup kitchens and medical vans; presenting the first conference on chemical dependency and disability as well as the first conference on hepatitis C and the chemically dependent patient; assisting mentally ill homeless to obtain housing; studies of the biology of crack cocaine, pain management and chemically dependent patients, and helping to set up and evaluate methadone medical maintenance programs in NY State.

During the 1990’s he also set up several Medical Maintenance Programs (Office Based Opioid Treatment) throughout the state.

He also authored a major study on social stigma targeting the methadone program and patients and worked at introducing the use of the buprenorphine-naloxone combination in harm reduction and at Rikers Island jail.

Dr. Joseph authored or co-authored over 125 published papers and government reports and, with David Courtwright and Don DesJarlais, co-authored the book, Addicts Who Survived. With Dr. Barry Stimmel he edited the book, The Neurobiology of Cocaine Addiction. He was editor of special issues of the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Addictive Diseases and has also given numerous presentations on addiction and other topics at national and international conferences.

Dr. Joseph has served on NAMA Recovery’s Board of Directors and Advisory Board and was our Ambassador at Large.

Commendations and Awards: Sen. Jacob Javits had Dr. Joseph’s paper on probation methadone clinics entered into the Congressional Record (1971); Commendation in 1974 from the commissioner of probation, John Wallace, for developing the probation methadone clinics and the Vocational Guidance Program in the Bronx; Nyswander/Dole “Marie” Award (1991); Life-time Legacy Award and Proclamation from City of Cleveland (1999); NAMA Recovery Award as Honorary Patient (2003); and Award from International Association for Pain and Chemical Dependency (2007).

We at NAMA Recovery will miss Dr. Joseph he was a friend to patients and professionals.

References

Dole, V.P. and Joseph, H.  1978.   Long term outcome of patients treated with methadone maintenance.    Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 311: 181-189.

Courtwright, D., Joseph, H. Des Jarlais, D 1989. Addicts Who Survived. Univ of Tennessee Press; 1 edition.

Joseph, H., Simmel, B. 1997.  The Neurobiology of Cocaine Addiction: From Bench to Bedside. Routledge; 1 edition.

Nominations Open for the Richard Lane/Robert Holden Patient Advocacy Award

National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

Press Release

Contacts Persons: 

Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director, edirector@methadone.org

Carmen Pearman-Arlt, President, carlt@porterstarke.org

Phone/Fax: 1.212.595.NAMA  (1-212-595-62620

For Release

April 3, 2019

Nominations Open for the

Richard Lane/Robert Holden Patient Advocacy Award 

Richard Lane was a long-term heroin user who, upon release from prison in 1967, was instrumental in establishing one of the Nation’s first methadone treatment programs. In 1974, he became the Executive Director of Man Alive and later served as Vice President of the American Methadone Treatment Association (now AATOD) and as Vice Chairman of the Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Maryland.  Mr. Lane was a passionate advocate for methadone treatment and, by disclosing his own treatment experiences, provided inspiration to patients and colleagues alike.   

Robert Holden was also a recovering heroin user, who later became the Director of PIDARC, an outpatient methadone treatment program in the District of Columbia.  He was a friend of Richard Lane and succeeded Richard Lane’s term of office as the Vice President of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence.  This award was established in 1995 and recognizes extraordinary achievements in patient advocacy.   

The following criteria should be applied in making your selection:  

• Only one (1) nominee can be submitted to the Conference Awards Committee. There may be a number of nominees however only one (1) “consensus” nominee may receive this honor.
• The nominee must have been involved in the field of methadone advocacy for a period of five (5) years.
• The nominee must have made meaningful and consistent contributions, which have had a significant impact on opioid treatment within a state o
• For each nominee a Nomination Form must be completed and submitted with two (2) Letters of Support. The Nomination Form and this announcement and can also be downloaded from the NAMA Recovery website http://www.methadone.org and the President’s Blog http://nama-president.blogspot.com/

·         NAMA Recovery will be responsible for collecting all the submissions for nomination and selecting a committee of advocates that will decide on the final candidate.  The Candidate’s Name, Nomination Form and at least two (2) Letters of Support describing the nominee’s achievements will be submitted to the AATOD Conference Awards Committee for the final approval. 

The deadline for Submissions is April 10, 2019.  The completed Nomination Form along with at least two (2) Letters of Support should be sent to Joycelyn Woods at edirector@methadone.org.                                          

Previous Winners of the Award

         1995, Arizona              Richard Lane                                

         2001, St. Louis            Joycelyn Woods                                

         2007, San Diego          Anthony Scro                                

         2009, New York           Walter Ginter                                

         2010, Chicago             Lisa Mojer Torres                                

         2012, Las Vegas          Roxanne Baker   

         2013, Philadelphia       Ira Marion

         2015, Atlanta              Claude Hopkins

         2016, Baltimore           Brenda Davis

         2017 New York            Paul Bowman

This Award will be bestowed upon the recipient during the Awards Banquet Ceremony on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 during AATOD’s next National Conference which will convene at the Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida.   

The recipient will be provided with a round trip Coach Class airfare, up to two (2) nights in the hotel and Conference Registration.   

Deadline:           April 10, 2019

Email Nominations To:        Joycelyn Woods    edirector@methadone.org

If you have any questions about the award contact Joycelyn Woods at edirector@methadone.org or by telephone at 917-846-9983

Download Press Release  

Download NOMINATION FORM docx

Download NOMINATION FORM pdf