In response to the escalating opioid epidemic, providers, insurers, and pharmacies have restricted both the number and size of opioid prescriptions they dispense. Expert Sebastian Seiguer, CEO of emocha Mobile Health, supports the new standard that opioids should not be the first or second treatment options to manage pain: affirming guidelines first implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and subsequently adopted by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assocation. “All these types of remedies are all trying to cover for one major problem we have—prescribers are hesitant to prescribe replacement treatments for opioids because they don’t know what is happening to the patient when they leave the office,” Seiguer said. “We need ways to monitor and support the patient between visits.” With software like emocha that helps track medication adherence through video Directly Observed Therapy, patients can receive the critical care they need–and access necessary tools for recovery.
