Successful recovery requires a very high level of commitment to the treatment process, and ClearPDX has policies in place to encourage patients to adhere to the treatment program. These are:
1. Kept appointments. Ongoing, regular follow-up is essential to promote successful recovery. It is essential that you keep all of your scheduled appointments and arrive on time. The only exception to this is a bona fide and unavoidable personal or immediate family member emergency. If you must cancel your appointment, it is important that you call no later than 24 hours before your scheduled appointment time to reschedule. A late cancellation fee will be assessed for all appointment changes made after the cutoff time. If no effort is made to cancel or reschedule until after the appointment is missed (i.e. more than 15 minutes after your scheduled appointment time), this is considered a no-show and you will be billed the full amount for the appointment. Three (3) no-shows will result in immediate termination of treatment, no exceptions. It is your responsibility to call and reschedule if you do miss an appointment. If you do not call to reschedule within 2 weeks, it will be assumed that you no longer desire to continue your treatment. In that case, your treatment will be suspended if more than six (6) weeks have lapsed since your last appointment, unless prior arrangements have been made (e.g. extended trip out of town, family emergencies, etc.). If your treatment is suspended, you will not be able to receive refills of treatment-related medications (e.g. Suboxone) until you are seen in-person for follow-up.
2. Medication compliance and refills. If you are prescribed buprenorphine (Suboxone/Subutex), it is very important that you take the medication as prescribed. Furthermore, you will be held strictly accountable for your medication. Buprenorphine is a federally controlled medication (DEA Schedule III). Any report or indication of drug diversion of any type will result in immediate termination of treatment. Be prepared to report or demonstrate the number of remaining tablets or films at each visit. You will receive enough medication to last until your next visit, so it should not be necessary to refill your medication early. If you medication is lost or stolen, you will be granted one refill to replace the lost/stolen amount and you will be billed a penalty at the next appointment. If your medication is lost or stolen a second time, your treatment will be terminated, no exceptions. If you need an early refill due to medication overuse, you will be granted one refill to replace the needed amount and you will be billed a penalty at the next appointment. If you need a refill “bridge” to a rescheduled appointment for a legitimate reason (i.e. family/work emergency, etc.) we will call in a refill, and you will be billed a penalty at the next appointment.
3. Drug avoidance. It is unrealistic to expect that the process of recovery will be completely relapse-free in every case. However, it is important to note that in most cases using opiates or drinking alcohol while taking certain medications can be harmful. For example, if you are prescribed buprenorphine, the use of any opiates should be avoided unless deemed clinically necessary. A repeating pattern of substance use during office-based treatment may be a sign that more intensive treatment or detox is necessary, and may result in referral to facility-based treatment.
4. Urine drug testing. An essential aspect of substance dependence treatment is urine drug testing. This will be ordered at the first visit and periodically thereafter; in some cases urine drug testing may be ordered during consecutive visits. Failure to comply with urine drug testing will result in termination of treatment; if you are taking Suboxone/Subutex and are asked to comply with testing, no further refills will be provided until testing is performed.
