At Awakenings drug rehab Agoura we want to bring together the addiction treatment community. The drug and alcohol addiction treatment industry is becoming divided due to patient brokering and new laws regulating marketing.

Drug Rehab Agoura Focuses on Ethical Business and Marketing

The new California patient brokering laws are a direct result of what transpired in Florida with patient brokering. The California laws are stricter in some areas. According to the new law substance abuse treatment centers or individuals can have their licensure and credentials revoked if convicted. This would cause major issues for the rehabs and individual professionals. Losing a substance use disorder (SUD) license and, or credentials is a big deal. This would mean they have to close down for about 18 months. This is the time it would take to get new licensure.

Governor Brown signed the SB 1228, Lara. Alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment services: referrals law on September 26, 2018. This law clearly shows that California lawmakers are stepping in the 40 billion dollar a year drug rehabilitation industry. Lawmakers still need to iron out the complicated sober homes portion of the law. Shortly we will see additional laws focused on California sober livings. According to the LA Times, there are 106 sober homes in Costa Mesa, California.

Awakenings drug rehab Agoura is Co-Hosting a Behavioral Health Network Resources addiction conferences EMP Series event in Costa Mesa on 1/22/19. The new California patient brokering laws demand financial stewardship in the Treatment Industry. California substance abuse treatment centers need to look at how corporate debt & overspending fuels unethical decision making. This Executive conference strives to educate California drug rehabs on ethical business and marketing strategies. Behavioral Health Network Resources has provided 14 addiction Executive conferences. These conferences are in a fresh talk show host and town hall forum. Dr. Corbitt, CEO of Awakenings Treatment is a featured thought leader panelist. This behavioral health conference will educate California drug rehabilitation centers on ethical business, administrative and marketing practices.

California Treatment Centers Role in the New Law

California drug rehabs need to come together in this new regulation era. The nation witnessed many ethical operators in Florida closing their doors. The drug rehabs West Palm Beach laws directly affected Florida’s 1 billion dollar a year industry. Centers and sober livings need to have more self-regulation and be better watchdogs against patient brokering. Many of these centers mainly relied upon a “boots on the ground” marketing strategy. Many of them had no web marketing strategy in place.

Having a detailed and robust marketing mix is paramount with the new operating, business and marketing landscape. The nation witnessed Florida centers closing that refused to get educated on and implement a marketing mix. We recently spoke with Charles Davis, CEO, Behavioral Health Network Resources, on national drug rehab marketing trends. This is what he had to say:

Many substance abuse treatment centers have gotten by with a poor marketing strategy for years. Now, with the new patient brokering laws and more competition, a healthy marketing mix must be in place to survive.

Game Changers for Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Center Owners

Many recovery programs are founded with individuals impassioned with a drive to help others heal or alternatively, a clinical degree and an entrepreneurial spirit. What unfortunately many of these well-intentioned people do not have is a business or accounting background or knowledge of the laws, ethics, and regulations of being in the behavioral healthcare sector. This is a critical factor when a naïve person may inadvertently leave themselves open to inappropriate business practices.

As in any business, the initial excitement of opening a business is just that – exciting. The fantasies of filling your substance abuse treatment facility, helping people get sober and emotionally well often doesn’t take into account the far less sexy side of doing business. For us, drug rehab Agoura we found it difficult to navigate many challenges along our way to a successful drug rehabilitation center.

• Joint Commission fees
• State Certification fees
• continuing education for clinical staff
• worker’s compensation fees
• a VERY long list of necessary insurances to safely run a business

These five items alone add up to outrageous proportions. They cost a modest partial hospitalization program (PHP) or intensive outpatient program (IOP) facility 50-75K in a normal operating year. Many times some of these items and an underestimated marketing budget are not in the pro forma budget?

As these costs add up, seemingly “out of the blue” due to novice business exposure and lack of proper planning. The pressure mounts and people who began as enthusiastic helpers become indebted and fearful. This places many of the best of us in a vulnerable position to become entrenched in unethical and often unlawful practices. It is the rare entrepreneur who refuses to utilize credit or debt, who only purchases what is within one’s corporate means, and keeps the culture of the financial company lean and honest.

There is a phrase, our CEO, Dr. Sherri Corbitt instills inside Awakenings culture. It’s from one of our fellowships and is our guiding principle in corporate financial stewardship

We live within our means, but our means do not define us. We remain debt free, unburdened by pressure to stray from our values or our ethics to which we are all beholden.

Awakenings Drug Rehab Agoura Bringing Together Executives

Awakenings Treatment carefully watched the new laws develop in Florida. Education and partnerships are the key areas for addiction treatment centers and sober livings in California. We need to work together and not isolate our individual centers. Sharing information and focusing on clients getting the proper care over profits will play a key role in survival. Regulation in the drug rehabilitation industry is ongoing for lawmakers. The HR 6878 – Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act is in the House of Representatives is in the House of Representatives now and demonstrates other changes are coming. This bill clearly states:

Whoever, with respect to services covered by a health care benefit program, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly and willfully,

(1) solicits or receives any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate) directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in-kind, in return for referring a patient or patronage to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory; or

(2) pays or offers any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate) directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in-kind—

(A) to induce a referral of an individual to a recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory; or

(B) in exchange for an individual using the services of that recovery home, clinical treatment facility, or laboratory,

Awakenings Outpatient Drug Treatment Agoura More than a Recovery Center

Let’s work together!

Awakenings is taking a leadership role in this time of unprecedented changes in our industry. Coming together and getting educated on ethical and better business practices will benefit us all. We welcome all addiction treatment centers and sober livings to work with us. We want to get to know you and for you to get to know us. Give us call at (855-717-3268) and let’s sit down and see how we can work together to save lives and strengthen our industry. At Awakenings outpatient Agoura, we work with many other centers when we get a client that is not a good fit for our services. Our center located in Agoura Hills California, Awakenings provides the following drug and alcohol addiction treatment;

• Dual Diagnosis
• Drug Addiction
• Alcohol Addiction
• PTSD
• Trauma
• Eating Disorders
• Chronic Pain
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Experiential
• Breathwork

Addiction Conferences Provides CEO’s Business Education and Tools

CLICK HERE to check out the California Addiction Conferences EMP Series Event

The addiction conferences EMP series events provide 5 national thought leaders. These Executive panelists provide proven real-world solutions to ethical business and marketing in our industry. There is a battle going on in our industry and lawmakers are trying to protect the vulnerable that need addiction treatment. Now with the new laws in our state, the war is between drug rehabs California Vs. Patient brokering. The EMP conference features the following:

• How to avoid unethical decision marketing
• Drug rehab SEO, how to get on page one of Google
• Website development #1 drug rehab marketing mistake
• Adwords vs. organic marketing
• Past and Current Trends of Insurance Policy
• How to increase reimbursement
• How to market on social media

Let’s unite and get educated on better and ethical business and marketing practices. We hope you to join us at the Addiction Executive EMP conference in Costa Mesa, California on January 22, 2019.