MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. — The coronavirus pandemic made routine visits, to any doctor's office, challenging. Many healthcare professionals launched a telehealth or telemedicine service where patients can check-in and get the help they need virtually.
At first, patients were not using the digital platform. But when social distancing orders came into play, doctors started to see an increase in virtual appointments.
This gave Dr. Stephen Loyd the idea to offer the same virtual service to his patients who are struggling with addiction.
"You're looking at limiting face-to-face interaction so we don't spread the virus. It obviously makes sense from that standpoint," said Dr. Loyd
Dr. Loyd is the chief medical officer at Cedar Recovery, an addiction treatment center based in Tennessee, with three locations throughout the state.
Some of Dr. Loyd's patients live in rural areas. Oftentimes, his patients end up spending close to $30 in gas to see him, which is a limiting factor. But with telemedicine, Dr. Loyd's patients can now check-in from the comfort of their own homes.
One of the downsides Dr. Loyd faces with telemedicine is not being able to conduct drug screening tests.
But that's just a minor disadvantage for Dr. Loyd.
"The hard part is that human connection," he explained.
Through telemedicine, Dr. Loyd is able to prescribe medication to help his patients get through addiction.
He's also able to conduct group therapy sessions in a video conference call setting.
For patients who don't do well in group settings, a virtual conference call makes things easier.
"The computer gives you a little bit of confidence because you're not in a room full of people you don't know. They're on a screen," he explained.
Dr. Loyd recovered from his own addiction 16 years ago. So he knows firsthand what his patients are up against.
"I was using the equivalent of 100 Vicodin in a day," he said.
"I used to go to bed, half the night praying that I wouldn't die in my sleep because I knew how much I was taking every day. And the other half of me wanted to die because I didn't see a way out."
And because he knows what addiction is really like, Dr. Loyd says the first step, for anyone fighting any type of addiction, is to ask for help.
"I want people to understand there are folks out there who will meet you where you are, no matter what. I don't care how many times it takes," he explained.
"Mine took one great support group of people. It's no less of a success story if it took 100."
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