Vital Spark Spark Biomedical

One in three people in the United States are either directly or indirectly affected by the opioid epidemic. Today’s guest, Tiffany Wharton, is a financial advisor, a mother, and the recently crowned Mrs. Wisconsin on a mission to destigmatize Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and help as many sufferers across the country as possible get access to bioelectric medicine. The organization that she has founded to achieve these goals is very aptly called Heroes of the Prescription Epidemic (HOPE). Listen to this episode to hear more about the approach that Tiffany is using to bring HOPE to those with OUD, the benefits of bioelectric medicine in comparison to traditional treatment methods, and why helping OUD sufferers is a cause that everybody in the country should care about!

One in three people in the United States are either directly or indirectly affected by the opioid epidemic. Today’s guest, Tiffany Wharton, is a financial advisor, a mother, and the recently crowned Mrs. Wisconsin on a mission to destigmatize Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and help as many sufferers across the country as possible get access to bioelectric medicine. The organization that she has founded to achieve these goals is very aptly called Heroes of the Prescription Epidemic (HOPE). Listen to this episode to hear more about the approach that Tiffany is using to bring HOPE to those with OUD, the benefits of bioelectric medicine in comparison to traditional treatment methods, and why helping OUD sufferers is a cause that everybody in the country should care about!

The process of detoxing the body takes a series of steps to efficiently eliminate toxins. For people who deal with substance abuse, detoxification can be a lengthy experience as it is a mental process, just as it is a physical one. In addition to general mental health counseling, many centers that cater to people suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) offer a myriad of services to reach full recovery. One of those solutions is IV treatment.

IV treatment (or therapy) assists the body’s natural detoxification process by further boosting its detoxifying capabilities. There are many types of IV solutions available, and some offer more comprehensive benefits than others.

Dr. Joel Hansen is Chief Medical Officer at Altium Health, where he’s worked since 2019 and specializes in ambulatory detox. He previously worked in other treatment and recovery centers as a psychiatrist and medical director and is a graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

The rise in opioid use in the United States has an unfortunate side effect; an increase in pregnant women suffering from an opioid use disorder. Even more tragic, this results in an increase in the number of infants born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). This condition can lead to devastating effects for the infant within the first hours or days of life, including severe withdrawal symptoms and development issues.

How is healthcare meeting this challenge? Luckily, clinicians, researchers, and healthcare companies are working on solutions.

The last three years have seen a dramatic rise in opioid-related deaths. In 2018, there were 42,000 deaths related to opioids. That number rose 57% to 73,757 in the year-long period between April 2020 and April 2022. One of the primary reasons many keep using opioids is fear of withdrawal. In the first episode of the Vital Spark series, Daniel Powell, CEO of Spark Biomedical, joined Host Daniel Litwin to explain his company’s alternative opioid withdrawal treatment approach.