Enterhealth, a Dallas-based drug and alcohol treatment center, has designed a telemedicine program in-line with the company’s aim of treating dual-diagnosis disorders.
“It’s a combination of real medical care but it’s very anonymous, very convenient and it’s not intrusive into their life at all,” Enterhealth Chief Medical Strategist Harold Urschel says. “You don’t have to go the doctor’s office, travel, park [or] pay a copay.”
The 12-week treatment is managed through their telehealth service platform, Enterhealth Connect, which includes telepsychiatry and teletherapy. Patients use a video conferencing platform called Zoom to talk to doctors and therapists via smartphone, tablet or computer.
The session begins with an assessment by a psychiatrist, who pinpoints any underlying psychiatric issues before starting treatment. From there, Enterhealth experts create a personalized treatment plan aimed at preventing or lessening issues that can arise when stopping nicotine.
Tune-up sessions, conducted with the psychiatrist and lasting 15-20 minutes, are included to adjust medication as needed. Patients attend therapy sessions.
The treatment is available to the public as well as businesses and their employees.
“The good thing about smoking is that it’s extremely treatable, but most people can’t stop because they’re not getting the right types of treatment,” Urschel said.
According to the CDC, smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States with more than 480,000 smoking-related deaths each year.
