Are all addiction doctors the same? In fact, they aren’t.
To ensure you are receiving the highest quality addiction treatment possible from a doctor, make sure he or she is board certified in addiction medicine through the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM). In addiction psychiatry, they should be board certified through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN).
Through board certifications, you can obtain the highest level of expertise in addiction medicine. Recovery is already challenging enough. Don’t make it more so by working with addiction doctors who aren’t as qualified as they should be to treat you.
The truth is that board certified physicians can sometimes be hard to come by depending on your location. However, if you use the two link directories in this article, you can hopefully find one that is the right fit for you.
What Do Addiction Doctors Do?
As part of an alcohol rehab program, addiction medicine doctors can provide a comprehensive assessment for a substance use disorder by doing the following:
- Providing a complete medical examination and diagnosis
- Offering counseling
- Prescribing medications
- Working with other counselors and therapists to supervise a treatment plan
It is very common for mental health issues to coincide with addiction. Addiction psychiatrists can handle these dual-diagnosis cases by addressing the addiction issues and the mental health issues separately. If you have co-occurring disorders it may be in your best interest to find a psychiatrist who can handle mental health disorders and addiction.
How to Spot a Quality Psychiatrist
You can usually sport whether or not a psychiatrist is credible by looking at their credentials. Doctors board-certified by in addiction medicine (by ABAM) or addiction psychiatry (by ABPN) will have the highest expertise in addiction treatment. And here’s something good to know: ABAM and ABPN directories will clearly display these credentials.
What to Ask?
Before the first appointment, mainly what you want to ask is the types of therapies they utilize and financial concerns:
- Do they have any openings for new patients? There’s no way to know the answer to this without asking. They may or may not have an opening. If not, seek recommendations and move on.
- What types of insurance do they accept? You can’t just assume that they accept your insurance plan (or any insurance plan for that matter).
- What is their rate? It’s possible that their rate is more than what you’re expecting. In any case, you need to know before making a decision to move forward with that addiction doctor.
At the end of the appointment, you will want to ask what types of steps to make next:
- When to book the next appointment.
- If this addiction doctor isn’t going to work for you, are there other treatment providers he or she recommends working with?
Tips to Help you Search
The ABAM and ABPM directories will help you find board-certified addiction doctors near you. The ABAM directories list physicians who are board certified in addiction medicine. These doctors are generally primary care doctors. The ABPM directory lists psychiatrists who are board certified in addiction psychiatry. These physicians will specialize in mental health. Hopefully, there is a variety of addiction certified physicians in your area and you are able to find your perfect fit. Read their bio and decide if you agree with their philosophies. Physicians can use a multitude of different therapies and medications, so be sure to ask them if they do not specifically say.
If you’d like help with finding addiction doctors in Florida, we can help. We’re Coalition Recovery. Our drug addiction doctors will use their knowledge and experience to assist you in getting better.
It’s time to begin healing. Call us today at 888.707.2873 to find out more about successfully recovering from addiction.
