Western Maine Health Care (WMHC) and Maine Behavioral Healthcare (MBH) have partnered over the past year to develop a clinically and financially sustainable model for the delivery of much-needed integrated addiction medicine in primary care. The Western Maine Comprehensive Addiction Program (CAMP) was launched on October 3, 2022. This program is embedded in Western Maine Primary Care, located at 9 Pikes Hill Road in Norway; affiliated with Stephen’s Memorial Hospital, a MaineHealth Hospital. Western Maine Primary Care currently serves as a certified Opioid Health Home; the implementation of CAMP at this site will significantly expand these services.
Under the medical directorship of Lisa Miller, MD, an Addiction Medicine Fellowship Trained (board eligible October 14, 2022) and Family Medicine Board Certified Physician, wrap-around care will be provided to all patients who have a diagnosis of substance use disorder with a multidisciplinary team.
Treatment is offered in the form of specialty consultations (inpatient, outpatient, and ED), medication management (expanding access of medication provided for opioid use disorder, longitudinal follow up, coordination of counseling (individual and group), peer support specialty services and referrals to higher levels of care when indicated (IOP, methadone, residential rehabilitative treatment programs, etc.). Due to Dr. Miller’s previous training and experience of providing full spectrum primary care for 15 years, she is also providing preventative care to those patients with unstable opioid use disorder with the goal of getting them stabilized and potentially reassigned to other providers in order to allow her to continue to work with higher risk patients. The spectrum of care she offers includes consultations on all substance use disorders, including alcohol, opioids, tobacco, and stimulants. She also offers consultations for hepatitis C treatment and monitoring, perinatal substance use disorder, and ambulatory medically monitored alcohol withdrawal management.
This program is poised to broaden the ability to care for more clinical complexity through the use of long-acting injectable medications, the ability to provide care to those with polysubstance use disorders, integration of more complex patient clinical presentations, and provide consultation service to an underserved area with a high demand for these services. Providing primary care and addiction medicine treatment in one location supports holistic and integrated care that leads to improved outcomes and patient satisfaction.
