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State Representative Jim Buchy It Takes a Team
to Help a Person Suffering from Addiction
Over the past year local leaders have been meeting to discuss our areas
drug problem under the leadership of the Darke County Chamber of
Commerce. As a result of those discussions Ohio law has been
updated to ensure medical professionals and mental health professionals
are able to communicate regarding a patient suffering from drug
addiction.
Local leaders know it takes a team to help a person suffering from
addiction. We know Indiana has been able to get help for those
addicted to drugs by holding them for treatment involuntarily.
Bringing this same approach to Ohio may help ensure those addicted
receive help when it is needed.
Based on recommendations from these local leaders the state budget
includes a provision that allows professionals in Ohio to communicate
regarding the care of a patient who has suffered from a drug
overdose. Under the new provision in the state budget a doctor
who treats a patient experiencing a drug overdose may refer them to a
mental health professional to address their drug addiction. If
the doctor chooses he of she may also contact the mental health
professional that they referred the patient to and ask them for their
help in providing care for this very serious problem.
Whether or not the patient chooses to communicate with the mental
health professional their choices will be reported back to the doctor
who referred them for inclusion in their medical record. Although
this is a very small step it is an important step because Ohio’s laws
previously prevented this type of collaboration when treating the
addicted.
By including a record of the patients willingness to seek help from a
mental health professional in the medical record, Ohio doctors will
have yet one more tool in their medical bag when they are working to
get the addicted help. A record indicating a patients
unwillingness to get help may be used to provide support for holding a
patient under Ohio’s involuntary holding law if a doctor continues to
see the same patient for drug addiction on a regular basis.
Providing these tools will allow a doctor to use their professional
judgment to take steps to get the best available help for a person who
needs help with their drug addiction.
In western Ohio we are very fortunate to have proactive people willing
to work as a team to fight Ohio’s drug addiction problem.
Continued efforts such as the one led by the Darke County Chamber of
Commerce will have positive impacts on our efforts to reduce drug
addiction in Ohio.
Please provide your opinion on the issues in the news this month by
completing an online survey at tinyurl.com/buchyjuly2015.
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