American Addiction Centers: Fentanyl Presence Rising in Client Testing
March 26 2019 - 6:00AM
With national media noting a steep rise in fentanyl-related deaths,
American Addiction Centers (NYSE: AAC) has seen the presence of
fentanyl in patients seeking treatment at its centers nearly double
since 2016.
The percentage of patients testing positive for fentanyl at
point of intake has climbed from 2.4 in 2016 to 4.1 in 2018. This
underscores the challenge that addiction treatment providers face
in keeping abreast of dangerous street drugs and their many analogs
(slight variants of heavily regulated or banned drugs created by
black-market chemists to skirt drug laws).
“The rise of fentanyl in intake patients is one of the reasons
why the level of testing we provide is so important,” said Dr.
Howard Taylor, Addiction Labs of America’s lab director.
“Unfortunately, most point-of-care cups used by some treatment
providers do not test for fentanyl or synthetic drugs. They also
can’t differentiate between codeine and heroin. This leads to a
false sense of security at a time when we are still facing an
opioid epidemic.”
American Addiction Centers relies on its in-house testing arm,
Addiction Labs of America, an advanced laboratory that caters to
the unique testing and monitoring challenges of addiction
treatment. Addiction Labs of America monitors DEA seizures and
emerging threat reports to continually refine both the number of
substances that it can screen for and the amounts it can
detect—including not just fentanyl and its analogs, but other new
psychoactive substances (NPS) such as synthetic cannabinoids,
synthetic stimulants and designer benzodiazepines.
“We have seen a dramatic shift in the drugs that are being
seized and are modifying our NPS list to more closely match the
drugs that are common now, as opposed to the ones that have been
common in years past,” said Dr. Mark Calarco, American Addiction
Centers’ national medical director of clinical diagnostics. “For
example, we are seeing a spike in tianeptine seizures. Tianeptine
is an opioid-like drug not regulated by the DEA, easily purchased
over the internet and with a high potential for abuse. To my
knowledge, no other treatment-connected labs are testing for this
drug on a routine basis. Being able to pinpoint drugs during intake
has a huge impact on our ability to deliver the best care to
patients in recovery.”
About American Addiction Centers
American Addiction Centers (NYSE: AAC) is a leading provider of
inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment services. We
treat clients who are struggling with drug addiction, alcohol
addiction, and co-occurring mental/behavioral health issues. We
currently operate substance abuse treatment facilities located
throughout the United States. These facilities are focused on
delivering effective clinical care and treatment solutions. For
more information, please find us at AmericanAddictionCenters.org or
follow us on Twitter @AAC_Tweet.
Joy Sutton
American Addiction Centers
(615) 727-8407
jsutton@contactaac.com
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