Bringing the Justice System to Outpatient Addiction Care

By Amanda Jepson | Categories: | Comments Off on Bringing the Justice System to Outpatient Addiction Care

Harris Health System’s Office-Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) Program integrates physical, social, behavioral, and mental health to treat patients with substance use disorder (SUD) in a non-stigmatizing environment—the primary care setting. The program provides extensive support to patients with SUD and works to decrease drug misuse to less than 30 percent of the patient population. Additionally, it provides assessments and follow-up care for body mass index, depression, and tobacco use.  

A team of nurses, community health workers, medical doctors, and executive leadership educates participants on establishing their place in the community, prioritizing their mental health, and practicing self-care to keep a healthy mindset. Eighty percent of OBAT participants are uninsured or underinsured. The program identifies social determinants of health on a case-by-case basis and takes measures to mitigate noncompliance risks with treatment plans. Since its 2017 inception, the OBAT program has been funded through federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grants, multiple state grants, and university research partnerships.  

In 2022, Harris Health System’s OBAT partnered with the Harris County Success Through Addiction Recovery (STAR) Drug Court Program to better serve patient needs. The STAR program uses a unique judicial model of treatment and education to support recovery from substance use and mental health disorders and reduce the expense of criminal case processes and incarceration. This partnership allows the Harris Health OBAT team to visit the courts monthly to speak with clients about the program; discuss topics related to substance use, addiction, suicide, and overdose prevention; and provide connections to community resources. Additionally, the OBAT team partnered with Harris Health’s Health Care for the Homeless Program to provide mobile medical unit services outside of the courts for six months. 

The program currently serves 287 opioid use disorder and 97 alcohol use disorder patients. OBAT participants have shown significant decreases in drug misuse, and 93 percent of program participants are opioid-free within six months. In collaboration with STAR, Harris Health System educated 730 clients on suicide and overdose prevention between November 2022 and September 2024, and distributed more than 300 boxes of naloxone to clients and courts.