Avon’s Magellan Health Services Inc. said a new substance abuse treatment program it launched in 2010 has been able to successfully reduce readmission rates by about 20 percent three months after a patient was discharged from a rehab center.
The analysis focused on a medication-assisted treatment portion of the company’s Magellan Integrated Substance Use Solutions program, which uses medications such as acamprosate, naltrexone, disulfiram, and buprenorphine to reduce cravings that assist in recovery.
A year’s worth of data from that program, which was started in 2010, shows that participants in medication-assisted treatment had 21 percent fewer readmissions to a facility seven days after discharge than those who were not discharged on medications.
After 60 days, there were 19 percent fewer readmissions from program participants.
Magellan said the program focuses on clinical interventions, increased provider and member outreach, social networking tools and the use of pharmacological options available in the treatment of substance use disorders. Where clinically appropriate, it also includes the use of medications such as acamprosate, naltrexone, disulfiram, and buprenorphine that reduce cravings to assist in recovery.
As part of the overall program, Magellan monitors the number of cases in which physicians are prescribing medications and measures member readmission rates.
