CMS has developed an app that will change how life-saving treatment for opioid addiction is delivered.
An App for Recovery
These days it seems there is an app for everything – just about everyone has a smartphone and is using it most of the time. But what if there were an app that could help pave the way to recovery from addiction to opioids such as fentanyl, heroin, and oxycodone?
When people finally make a decision to seek treatment for opioid addiction, it can be difficult to stay the course, especially early in treatment, where there are many temptations to go back to using illegal drugs. CMS, in collaboration with Bright Therapeutics, has developed an app (available for both iPhones and Android devices) that can be a key to success during your path towards recovery – it is called Recovery Connect.
How Can I Get This App?
The app is a free download from the Apple Store and Google Play. There are no additional charges – you can use the app as much as you want. In order to get the most benefit from it, however, you need to be enrolled in treatment at CMS and be linked to your counselor through the app – this is where the magic happens.
What Does Recovery Connect Do?
Recovery Connect has several options for engagement. There are educational modules on many topics, self-check-in options, and many more. The most important function of this app is that it can be a lifeline to your counselor at CMS.
With Recovery Connect, you can send messages to your counselor, and they can send messages back at any time. While your counselor may not respond immediately to your messages if they are busy or it is not during working hours, this is a great way to stay in touch.
Why Is This So Important?
Many apps designed in the mental health space are intended to be substitutes for a human counselor – either through educational modules or as an AI bot. Nothing can replace, however, the human connection – knowing that someone who knows you and cares about how you are doing is available to you. Recovery Connect does not serve to replace the counselor but instead extends the counselor and strengthens the connection between patient and their treatment program.
Does Recovery Connect Really Work?
At CMS, we are dedicated to science and evidence – we want to be sure that anything we give to our patients is proven to be effective. We have done a randomized study (currently in the process of publication) that shows that people who use the app have a much better chance of staying in treatment at 30 days – a critical time in the recovery journey. Our study showed that people who use the app regularly are 5 times less likely to leave treatment! Just having your counselor trained in using the app increases your chances of success significantly – and the earlier in treatment you download and link the app and start using it the more benefit you get from it.
Do All CMS Patients Get Recovery Connect? How Do I Use It?
All patients at CMS can download the app and get connected with their counselor – right now over 60% have the app and can use it any time they want. You are not required to use the app – if you don’t have a smartphone, or don’t like interacting through apps, or whatever – you always have your counselor and medical provider available through your clinic by phone or just dropping in.
Take the Next Step with Recovery Connect
If you or someone you love is struggling with opioid addiction, Community Medical Services is here to help.
Download the Recovery Connect app today on the App Store or Google Play and link with your CMS counselor to start building a stronger foundation for recovery.
