Philadelphia Launches Media Campaign to Promote Medicated Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction

The city of Philadelphia has launched a media campaign in order to raise awareness about medication-assisted treatment for those who are struggling with opioid addiction. This new campaign is focused around buprenorphine, and its goal is to reduce the stigma around the drug so that it would be a more widely accepted treatment method.

The $200,000 ad campaign will fund a series of videos, billboards, and social media posts featuring the images and stories of real people who have achieved success in their recovery thanks to buprenorphine.

The ads will appear in both English and Spanish. The campaign is modeled after one that Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley says was successful in New York. Farley said that this ad campaign is designed for people who use heroin. “Most of the people who are injecting drugs are living at home, many are employed, so they are in many ways a hidden population,” he said.

City officials don’t have a good sense of how many people in Philadelphia use heroin every day, but a generalized advertisement approach could help reach out to them.

Buprenorphine is considered the gold standard to treat opioid addictions. However, people are wary of it because of the fact that buprenorphine itself is a low-grade opioid. The medication, however, works to stop cravings and ease the symptoms of withdrawal. It is taken orally and works wonders when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. Click the link to see Newark's top rehab placement programs.

Buprenorphine makes the detox process easier for the patient, while behavioral therapy addresses the emotional and mental effects of addiction. During addiction treatment, these methods can help a person deal with the root cause of their substance abuse problem.

As an opioid, buprenorphine has the potential to be diverted or sold illegally. There’s a misconception that if you take buprenorphine, you are simply replacing one addiction with another. These are the things that the Philadelphia ad campaign hopes to address.

There are about 12,000 slots for medication-assisted treatment in the city. A quarter of this is currently available. This means that many addicted individuals are not receiving the care they need. Even though the number of people citywide who have been receiving medication-assisted treatment has increased sixfold in the past three years, availability is not the biggest obstacle. According to David T. Jones, commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, the real problem is not availability, but the stigma surrounding the treatment.

The ad campaign is supposed to help people realize that the treatment is effective so that they will reach out and seek help.

“If you’re ready for treatment, we have a slot for you,” Jones said. The campaign effort is geared towards promoting the treatment among prospective patients. The city is also working with doctors on the issue. Farley said his department has contracted with a technical assistance firm that is helping physicians who may be uncomfortable prescribing buprenorphine to understand the real risks and benefits. After all, physicians have been advised to reduce opioid prescriptions because of the current epidemic. But by working closely with doctors, cities can tackle the issue more reliably.

If someone in the family is struggling with opioid addiction, it is important to seek help. A combination of medical detox and behavioral therapy can go a long way in the fight against drug abuse. But because every individual is affected by addiction differently, a comprehensive program tailored to their specific needs is necessary. Look for a nearby addiction treatment facility today and find out how drug treatment programs work.