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Podcast: Challenges and Innovations Shaping Addiction Care
On this week’s episode of Healthcare 360, Dr. Rob Fields speaks with Bobby Kelly, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Medical Director of Behavioral Services at BILH, discussing the ways in which addiction treatment has evolved in recent years. Their conversation sheds light on both the challenges and innovations shaping modern addiction care.
Dr. Bobby Kelley began his career as a middle school math teacher before pivoting to medicine, where he worked in primary care. As he continued to encounter patients in need of help with substance use disorders (SUDs), his own clinical focus began shifting to the area of addiction treatment. His passion for population health, combined with the mounting pressures of the opioid crisis, led him to advocate for addiction medicine as a core part of medical training. Now board-certified in addiction medicine, Dr. Kelley emphasizes the importance of treating addiction as a chronic disease, much like diabetes, rather than a moral failing.
Breaking Down Stigma and Expanding Recovery
One of the key challenges in addiction medicine is the stigma that surrounds substance use disorders. Dr. Kelley highlights that this stigma often deters both patients and clinicians from engaging in treatment. “I saw a lot of what was holding people back was the stigma around folks with SUD,” he notes. For years, addiction treatment was limited, and many clinicians were hesitant to get involved. “There was a fear that it was hard to get into it, and historically, there wasn’t a whole lot that seemed evidence-based and successful.” However, Dr. Kelley describes how new medications for opioid use disorder, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, have helped patients manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings. “We have evidence-based treatments... it's really life-saving medication,” he emphasizes.
The patient experience in addiction medicine has also evolved. Historically, treatment often focused on detox and psychotherapy, with abstinence from substances being the only acceptable outcome. However, Kelley notes that the definition of recovery has expanded. “For some people, abstinence is absolutely the most appropriate and correct definition of recovery. But for others, the definition of recovery has expanded to include harm reduction,” allowing for a more flexible and personalized approach to treatment.
Every other week, we’ll chat with a leading expert in healthcare to learn about the many challenges and opportunities facing the industry. Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Bobby Kelly here, and check in regularly for new episodes of Healthcare 360.
