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We've seen a tragic record of over 100,000 overdoses in the US last year. The common narrative is that overzealous marketing by pharmaceutical companies and overprescribing of opioids by medical professionals created a new wave of individuals addicted to pills that then turned to heroin when the pill supply dried up. However, according to SAMHSA's data, rates of addiction in the general population didn't change at all. So, while overdoses have skyrocketed, the percentage of the population struggling with addiction has not, meaning that the data doesn't exactly match the common narrative. Dr. Singer is a physician and owner of a group surgical practice who has also become a Senior Fellow at The CATO Institute, advising on opioids, drug policy, and other topics. In this interview, he walks us through a lot of the data from SAMHSA, NIH, and other research to help us take another look at what's happening in our country around drug use and overdoses. It's an episode you won't want to miss.

50 years of research has confirmed contingency management as one of the most effective treatment modalities out there both as a standalone and in conjunction with 12-step, community reinforcement approaches, and others. Yet, it's hard to find funding or reimbursement for it and most providers haven't even considered integrating it into their programs. In this episode, I speak with Eric Gastfriend, CEO of DynamiCare Health, a digital therapeutic platform with contingency management at its core. We talk about the research, the challenges to implementation, and what the academic literature says about doing it right.

​The MAT space has traditionally done very little in the way of marketing due to how underdeveloped the space is as well as the high demand for services from Medicaid patients. But, like addiction treatment and psych hospitals before them, as more and more providers have entered the space in a maturing market, reliance on being the only provider in town is no longer a viable strategy. BrightView is far ahead of what were once many of its much larger competitors because they started marketing back in 2019 before any MAT providers were doing so. Colin Jeffries, VP of Marketing, gives us insights into their reasoning and strategy in this episode of the Recovery Executive Podcast.

Conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion in behavioral health are just beginning, so many providers don't know where to start. Or maybe they get started with a DEI statement, but are unsure where to go next. To make matters more complicated, DEI as a field is in its infancy and many DEI initiatives and practitioners offer little more than window dressing, lacking organizational alignment, KPIs, or tangible outcomes that executive teams can realistically support for the long-term. In this episode, I interview Zina Navarro-Rodriguez, owner of Z&D Consulting. Like me, she is a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE). We answer questions such as: - What should DEI look like in behavioral health? - How do we effectively engage different communities, both those struggling with addiction and those looking to work in the field? - What's the role of straight white men in DEI? - Why does DEI need to align with pre-established core organizational objectives rather than operating under its own agenda? - Do we really need unconscious bias training? It's a great discussion. Enjoy.

We end up exploring two topics in this interview with JD Kalmenson, CEO of Montare Behavioral Health: 1) How can screens help tailor treatment programming? 2) How can therapies such as TMS, Neurofeedback, or Ketamine be used in a continuum of care?

This is one of my favorite interviews to date. How did a little-known provider start with one facility and grow to nearly 700 beds with a 99% run-rate for the entire year so far? How do they plan to grow to 40 facilities within the next year and a half? The answer is Matt Boyle, CEO of Landmark Recovery. Matt and his team have created a model by thinking completely outside the existing playbook of addiction treatment. In fact, they saw what others had been doing in the field and made a conscious decision to do away with most of what they saw. Matt was incredibly gracious to share his strategies and many actionable tips on what scalable, long-term growth that works looks like.

Should you buy or lease? What's the advantage of hiring an attorney, vs an architect for zoning, vs a broker? Did you know you can get free rent or money for renovations built into lease agreements and renewals? This episode with Colin Carr, CEO of CARR Healthcare Realty, has many practical tips for sourcing locations as you start or expand your program.

Alumni programming is critical to patient success post-treatment as well as the financial stability of the program. Michael Maassel built Harmony Foundation's alumni program from scratch to the point where Harmony sees 40 or more admissions a month come through alumni referral. She has created an extremely engaged alumni community that benefits from a wide array of in-person and digital services. Join us on this episode to learn how she did it and how your program can do the same.

PR is often delegated to the marketing team or not done at all at many behavioral health organizations. Ted Bender, CEO of BeWell Network, sees it differently. Across roles and organizations, he has consistently become a go-to source for local media outlets, becoming the face of the company in the community. Now, he is even hosting his own national videocast on YouTube with some famous individuals. What's his process for gaining media exposure and, as a CEO with countless demands on his time, how does he decide how much time to allocate as well as the return on that investment. Join us for this excellent discussion as we answer those questions on this episode of the Recovery Executive Podcast.

Success in business is often about making big bets with limited data. However, consistency in execution and leading indicators can often fill in some of those data gaps over time. This approach to business growth and success works particularly well for marketing. Jason Perillo, CMO of High Watch Recovery, discusses some of the massive bets they've made recently and how they measure success and ROI over the long-term.

What are the forces that drive valuation? How does an owner know what a reasonable sale price is and how does a buyer calculate how much they should pay? This is not a simple calculation. It depends on many factors both internal and external to the business. Dexter Braff, President of the Braff Group, walks us through his 15+ years of experience doing M&A in the field of behavioral health. Some of the terminology we use in this one can be a bit difficult to differentiate, and can be used differently by different people, so a couple of definitions: Price - the final amount paid for the asset, which could be very different from the asset's intrinsic value. Speculation: The concept of paying a price above intrinsic value because the buyer believes they can sell it for an even higher price in the near future due to current market dynamics rather than underlying business fundamentals. Valuation (Intrinsic Value): The amount that the asset is worth based on business fundamentals, not including any frothiness in the market that may be over or undervaluing assets in a particular class or vertical.

There are multiple sources of capital to fuel growth for providers or to simply de-risk portions of the business. A sale-leaseback is one such vehicle that operates as an alternative to traditional bank debt or private equity. Patrick Haynes, Managing Principal at Wellness Realty, walks us through the pros and cons of the various types of financing and how they can work to provide much-needed capital or accelerate expansion for behavioral health providers.

Business development is a revolving door at many providers and remains one of the greatest areas of opportunity across behavioral health. How does one recruit, retain, and effectively train reps to bring out the best in them? I speak with Jordan Young of Jordan Young and Associates in this episode to learn just that.

Digital therapeutics are a new form of treatment where a doctor or other health professional prescribes digital content. Just like any other medication, the patient needs a written prescription. Pear Therapeutics has several FDA-approved digital therapies on the market already, including for addiction treatment. They provide low-cost and surprisingly efficacious care. Dr. Yuri Maricich, Chief Medical Officer for Pear, fills us in on this innovative form of treatment, how it fits into current continuums of care, and the results they've seen to date.

Rural areas hard hit by addiction are, unfortunately, often the least likely places in which to find treatment services, especially ones that accept Medicaid. The challenges to creating such programs are many. Nikki King, Manager of Behavioral and Addiction Services for Margaret Mary, overcame these challenges. In this episode, she shares with us her innovative approaches to stakeholder collaboration and program funding.

Removing barriers to treatment and improving patient outcomes are two of the core elements of any treatment program's mission. In this episode, I speak with Steve Randazzo, CEO of Aware Recovery. Aware is an innovative, home-based addiction treatment program that works with patients for up to a year providing extended care from a team of professionals. We discuss the logistics, outcomes, and payer relationships that have evolved over time as Steve and his team continue to grow Aware, now expanded into 9 states.

60% increases in patient responsibility collections? Patients sending thank you notes after paying their bills? Reduction in AMAs? Creating payment plans based on risk stratification data according to patient background? If you thought collecting deductibles and co-insurance would somehow have negative repercussions on your program, then you need to listen to this episode, where I speak with Chris Wolfington of FinPay on strategies to do all of the above.

Looking at 4 key quadrants that are the life's blood of any behavioral health system or treatment program, we explore the do's and don'ts of successful turnarounds around growth strategy. Gary Larcenaire of Project Ity has decades of experience doing both, so I'm excited to share his expertise on this episode.

After 40 years in the addiction treatment space, Doug Tieman is passing the torch as he retires. The industry has changed a lot in 40 years. Doug gives us insight into how Caron has changed and adapted in the field as well as how the field as a whole has changed, including how it will need to continue to change to meet the needs of tomorrow's patients. I thank Doug for his service and commitment to the recovery space. It was a pleasure getting his insights in this interview.

Improving clinical outcomes is dependent on feedback-informed care models. There is tremendous opportunity in the treatment space to track, analyze, and improve based on data. In this episode, I speak with Jared Dempsey, Chief Scientist at Trac9, where they have collected data on over 200,000 patients and already identified key data points that help their clients improve outcomes. I found this discussion incredibly valuable and know you will too.