Pubdate: Mon, 08 Jun 2015
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Douglas Quan
Page: A6

CHARGES POINT TO 'WILD WEST' OF ADDICTION TREATMENT

Uncredentialled 'Doctors' Highlight Lack of Oversight

The website for Addiction Canada's drug rehab centres says patients 
are cared for by "fully licensed and certified treatment professionals."

But the Ontario Provincial Police alleged last week that two 
employees at one of the company's facilities were passing themselves 
off as doctors when they did not have the credentials.

Experts say the case highlights how Canada's private addiction 
treatment industry is largely unregulated and how families need to 
carefully screen providers before shelling out tens of thousands of dollars.

"Right now there isn't a sheriff in town," said Robert Eves, director 
of strategic partnerships and knowledge mobilization at the Canadian 
Centre on Substance Abuse. "We don't have controls in place to know 
if people aren't (providing quality care). There isn't a way to 
identify that and deal with it, not systematically."

According to Detective Staff Sgt. Dorian Dwyer of the OPP's health 
fraud investigation unit, police learned two people at the Addiction 
Canada treatment centre in Caledon were identifying themselves as 
medical doctors, but neither was licensed to practice medicine in Ontario.

One employee was charged with personation and fraud under the 
Criminal Code. The other was charged under the Health Professions Act 
for using the title "doctor." The charges have not been proven in court.

John Haines, the CEO and founder of Addiction Canada, which operates 
five facilities across Ontario and Alberta, did not respond to 
requests for comment. The company claims on its website that it is 
the "LARGEST 'fully private' treatment organization in the country" 
and boasts a 65- to 85-percent success rate using a "completely 
holistic program!"

The website claims the organization is "fully accredited" and has 
been recognized with a World Accreditation Addiction Treatment Mark 
of Excellence (WAATME) seal.

WAATME described itself last fall as a new accrediting organization 
and a subsidiary of Old West Healthcare Partners in Wyoming. Its 
website states addiction treatment providers can receive its 
"distinguished" seal of approval in "THREE EASY STEPS": declare they 
are not funded or influenced by pharmaceutical companies, complete a 
1.5-hour online course, and pay a fee.

Russ Pickering, president of the Canadian Council of Professional 
Certification (CCPC), one of a handful of Canadian bodies that 
provide voluntary certification to addiction counsellors, said some 
of the information on Addiction Canada's website is misleading and he 
has previously asked that the CCPC logo be removed from it, but to no avail.

"I'm at a loss as to what to do with them," he said.

The lack of mandatory accreditation for treatment facilities and 
certification for addiction counsellors is a real problem, said 
Colleen Dell, research chair in substance abuse at the University of 
Saskatchewan.

"The thing that concerns me the most is that when an individual or 
their family is looking for treatment services, they are often in a 
state of desperation. It is a crisis time," she said in an email. "So 
when someone says to you what you want to hear, 'Yes, we can help and 
we will do a good job at it,' that is what you hold on to and don't 
tend to ask too many questions."

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is currently working with a 
half-dozen Canadian accrediting bodies and a half-dozen certification 
bodies to promote better oversight of the addiction treatment 
industry, Eves said.

While certification of addiction counsellors is still only voluntary, 
it is his hope that parties can reach an agreement soon on 
nationalized standards for certification. The long-term goal is to 
work with provinces to set up regulatory and licensing colleges for 
addiction workers, similar to those for medical doctors.

However, a spokeswoman for the B.C. health ministry said creating a 
regulatory college for this profession could be challenging because 
of the "diversity of philosophical approaches, entry requirements and 
practice standards" among counselling groups.

A spokesman for the Ontario health ministry said regulation of 
addiction counsellors is "not currently under consideration."

Experts say it is incumbent upon families searching for treatment 
providers - who can charge anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 per month 
- - to question them about their qualifications and to ask for evidence 
that supports their treatment practices.

Until more stringent regulations are in place, "you can hang up a 
shingle and call yourself a drug and alcohol counsellor, there's 
nothing in the law that prevents them," said Tom Gabriel, a retired 
Toronto police officer and president of the Canadian Addiction 
Counsellors Certification Federation, another certification body.

"It's like the Wild West."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom