Monroe's Dr. Gupta discusses new addiction treatment act

New federal legislation taking effect this summer aims to fight the national opioid crisis.

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed into law the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act. It goes into effect June 21.

Monroe physician and the area’s sole certified addiction provider, Dr. Arun Gupta, lauds the president’s efforts on the MAT Act but doesn’t think it will change much in Monroe County or the country.

Despite MAT's access to education, Gupta thinks few physicians will train in addiction medicine and many people will continue to die from drug overdoses. Since the start of the opioid epidemic in the 1990s, more than 1 million in the U.S. have died from overdoses. The CDC says 41 million people are currently addicted and just 2.4 million are in treatment.

“Doctors have until June 21 to apply (through the MAT Act). It’s an eight-hour course on addiction. Many physicians have never heard of MAT. Nobody’s interested in the national level. Nothing will change in Monroe. Half the doctors say, ‘We do not want to deal with this crowd.’ Lots of doctors have gotten into trouble, so they don’t want to risk their livelihood. As they learn and see how difficult it is (to treat patients with addictions), it is not easy to continue doing that. I have doubts that it will improve access to care substantially. I do not think it will reduce overdose deaths,” Gupta said.

The MAT Act also aims to make buprenorphine, an approved medicine for opioid use disorder, more accessible to addicted people. Gupta is in favor of a wide distribution of buprenorphine.

“Narcan is not working. People are requiring more of a dose and are still dying. Buprenorphine should be provided free to all those in need. Providing free buprenorphine dispensing and vending machines across the country would eradicate the need for expensive Narcan, which does not work well in overdose situations. People will not die, and it is a very effective and cheaper option for saving lives,” Gupta said.

Gupta likened MAT to another act that aimed to lessen the addiction crisis: the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000, which was passed when Biden was in Congress. Gupta said that act failed to produce more addiction providers.

“As of today, not even 4% (of physicians) know about that program. Physicians can take a course to become an addiction provider,” he said.

In a recent article published online, Gupta said the 2000 act had great potential.

“If the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education had started training and providing education on addiction in medical schools from 2000, when the Drug Addiction Treatment Act was passed, we would have produced 20,000 new doctors every year since then who would have been ready to tackle the opioid crisis. In 22 years, we would have had 500,000 new doctors,” Gupta wrote in the article.

Gupta said his Monroe practice is growing. He continues to see new patients who want to beat their addictions.

“My patient load is increasing. I see new patients, five to seven per week,” he said.

In 2022, Gupta published his first book, “The Preventable Epidemic: A Frontline Doctor’s Experience and Recommendations to Resolve America’s Opioid Crisis.” In the 277-page book, Gupta explains that opioid deaths can be reduced and that regulations for physicians, which have steepened over the last 20 years, are hindering addiction recovery in the U.S.

Gupta also speaks and travels to spread his message. He’s advocated for change at the federal level and has recorded podcasts. On March 24, he published the article “A Call For A Strategic Reset In Fighting America’s Opioid Epidemic” with the online “New Thinking” magazine.

“Professional people are reading it,” he said.

Gupta also continues to spread his message in virtual and in-person presentations. Once he was traveling extensively.

“I’m spreading my message in presentations, but not at a larger scale. I have the Serious Opioid Solution Foundation now. It’s a 501(c)(3) (non-profit). I’m doing fundraisers. I’m putting in more efforts to get grants, so I have more time trying to spread the message,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe's Dr. Gupta discusses new addiction treatment act