Indiana 1st in country to use software to connect those with addiction to drug treatment

Linking people with substance use disorders to the treatment they need to kick their addiction has just become easier in Indiana.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Thursday announced a new partnership with a software platform that can help social workers find openings at treatment facilities. The partnership, funded by money from the 21st Century Cures Act, also includes Indiana 2-1-1, a local non-profit that helps provides referrals for a variety of social services.

In the past 18 months, FSSA has increased residential treatment capacity by 26 percent, spending $10.9 million of federal funds to do so.

“Now our challenge is this: How do we connect people with open beds?” said Dr. Jennifer Walthall, FSSA secretary.

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Open Beds, a Washington, D.C. based company, provided the answer. In an arena where openings can be hard to find, its software gives providers real-time information on which facilities can take on new patients in real time. The software also allows the person doing the search, perhaps a social worker, to enter information about the person’s individual needs, payment information, and whether the referral was voluntary or not.

The software then allows providers to do a digital referral then and there. Then, the treatment facility can text the referrer back, confirming with him or her that the referral was accepted.

In addition, the platform allows the person making the referral to enter information about additional wrap-around services — such as assistance with food, transportation or housing — that a person might need. The 2-1-1 agency, which connects with about 7,000 service providers across the state, can then help address those needs.

Staffers who answer the phones for 2-1-1 will also be able to access Open Beds to help callers in need of treatment find their way to programs that have openings.

“This is connecting in that teachable moment for making the next step,” Walthall said.

Eskenazi Health has been using Open Beds for more than a year now as part of its Project Point program, which aims to connect people who come to the emergency room with drug overdoses to care. Before adopting Open Beds, emergency room staff would often spend an hour to an hour and a half making phone calls, trying to locate a place that had room.

Now, they can accomplish that within the space of a few minutes, said Dr. Krista Brucker, one of the program’s founders and an emergency room physician.

“In real time it saves a lot of time, which means we can help a lot more people,” she said.

Indiana is the first to use Open Beds statewide.

Started by a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine physician, Open Beds was originally developed to help match critical care patients with facilities that could handle their special needs. Three years ago the National Institute on Drug Abuse approached the company and asked whether the software could be adapted to address substance use disorders.

In Indiana, the program will start by concentrating on providing those with substance use disorder care but eventually it could extend to include treatment for a range of mental health programs, Walthall said. Matching patients in need with mental health treatments is a perennial challenge for healthcare providers, as mental health resources have historically not met need.

Call IndyStar staff reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter.

IndyStar’s “State of Addiction: Confronting Indiana's Opioid Crisis” series is made possible through the support of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, a nonprofit foundation working to advance the vitality of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people.