MATTERS Featured on OneClarence Podcast

“According to the [Erie] County Department of Health’s Data for 2022, Erie County saw the highest number of recorded opioid-related overdose deaths on record, which took an estimated 306 lives [. . .] Nationally, over 20+ million people were diagnosed with substance use disorder according to the National Institute of Health [. . .]

The reality we face regarding substance use disorders [SUD] is extremely complex, as it can and has affected all communities, degrees of wealth, and regions of the country, although some more disproportionately than others. There are no simple fixes and the impact that an overdose death can have on a family, school, community, or workplace can be profound.” – Evan Vahratian of Clarence’s Family Support Center.

Background

Evan sat down with MATTERS’ Chief Medical Officer and Harm Reduction Coordinator to discuss the history of the MATTERS Network and the expansion of the program. MATTERS began in 2016 as an effort to efficiently refer individuals with opioid use disorder from emergency departments to outpatient treatment with a focus on rapid access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

“The MATTERS program really started based on the fact that we weren’t going a great job addressing [SUD] in the emergency department. I think that mental health and substance use disorder is a tough problem to wrap your hands around and actually is an easy problem to put on the back burner.

Compare that to a heart attack: it’s very easy to diagnose, very easy to treat, and you know who you need to call for the next step. For [SUD], almost none of that works. It’s hard to diagnose [. . .] Sometimes it’s hard to identify someone, especially in the early stages of [SUD]. It’s somewhat tricky to treat because there are many obstacles in the way, and historically it has been hard to link patients to treatment. So, no wonder overdose death rates continue to be high when patients have all of those things stacked against them.” – Dr. Lynch.

Referrals

Dr. Lynch continues to discuss that MATTERS began as a way to rapidly connect individuals to treatment for SUD. There is a plethora of organizations and resources that help address SUD across New York State, and MATTERS serves as a way to connect all of these resources into one platform. MATTERS’ referral platform started by piloting with three treatment organizations in Buffalo, NY, and today facilitates referrals to 240+ treatment organizations across New York State.

“This is a network [. . .] Each [organization] chips in a little appointment availability, so no one organization is overwhelmed. Thanks to the partners we’ve made across the state, we have over 2,000 appointments a week. That allows us to do something really powerful – that allows us to let the patient pick where they go [for follow up].” – Dr. Lynch.

Due to social barriers like stigma, patients with SUD are often turned away, waiting long periods for an in-take appointment, or responsible to set up their own follow-up appointment. This process can leave patients discouraged.

The MATTERS referral process is completed in 3-5 minutes and require zero phone calls. During the referral, patients are shown a map of organizations that will accept them, regardless of polysubstance use, insurance status, or co-occurring conditions. This process of having the patient choose their treatment organization is very powerful.

“Having multiple access points [is important] – like the website, the [mobile] app, or just calling us at 765-MATTERS. One other big piece [. . .] emergency telemedicine evaluations. In Western New York [WNY] we’re fortunate enough to have that available in all eight counties of [WNY] 24-hours a day.

So if you call 765-MATTERS and you’re in [WNY], you can get an emergency telemedicine evaluation, an assessment, and potentially a prescription, and a referral – 24-hours a day. And you do that from your house.” – Dr. Lynch.

Harm Reduction

In addition to facilitating rapid electronic referrals, MATTERS has expanded its services to include the distribution of of harm reduction resources to individuals and organizations across New York State.

“The birthplace of the harm reduction piece of the MATTERS program comes from the idea that not everybody is ready for treatment immediately, but those folks still deserve compassionate support. They deserve to live their life with dignity and still have autonomy in their decisions. If they are going to be someone who uses substances, we want to empower them to do that in way that is a little safer and reduces some of those harms.“- Shelby Arena.

Shelby continues to explain that MATTERS offers opioid overdose response trainings, drug-checking resources like xylazine and fentanyl test strips, naloxone (also known as Narcan) distribution, as well as other educational resources to promote harm reduction strategies across New York State.

“With [SUD], you need to meet people where they are [. . .] Not everyone is ready to walk in the door and see a counselor or see a peer or meet a doctor. That’s a big step for people, even for people without [SUD]” Dr. Lynch highlights.

Later on in the discussion, Lynch mentions, “For a lot of people, [telemedicine] might be much less intimidating than walking into an [emergency room] or walking into a counselor’s office. For some people, that is all they need. For other people, maybe that’s the first step. Meeting people where they are with anything is often a lot easier said than done, but I think we’ve been able to come up with a few different access points based on the needs of any individual.” – Dr. Lynch.