Addiction Treatment Clinic Treats County

LONGVIEW, Wash. - April 27, 2018 - PRLog -- A doctor established an addiction treatment center to assist patients with substance use disorders in Cowlitz County.

Since November, AJ Shergill's Medtriq clinic has become one of the main prescribers for suboxone. A second location in Centralia was opened in March.

The opioid crisis cost Washington state an estimated $9.19 billion in 2016, reported the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Cowlitz County accounted for the third highest amount of opioid-related overdoses that year a report by Washington State Department of Health stated.

Shergill decided to offer medication-assisted treatment in Longview after many patients commuted three hours north to his Tacoma office.

To help people, he said, you have to go where there is the most need in order to make a difference.

Medtriq also offers counseling services for patients in and televisits via webcam for those in rural communities with limited addiction treatment resources. Shergill has also partnered with a telepsychiatry service in Spokane to treat patients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

The majority of Shergill's patients are insured through Washington's Apple Healthcare (Medicaid). Apple Healthcare covers all clinic and prescription costs for patients and offers multiple chemical dependency program options to choose from.

Medtriq's success has verified that our model works, Shergill said.

He hopes to open additional clinics throughout the state in the near future.

https://www.drugaddictionnow.com/2018/04/26/addiction-tre...