By Peter Loeb, CEO of Lionrock
When the Coronavirus pandemic took the world by storm in early 2020, few people had any idea of the long-term complications it would bring. Among them, we now see a new mental health crisis, including substance use disorders (SUDs), which have emerged as a challenging co-morbidity of the pandemic. According to the CDC, drug overdose deaths increased by more than 28% from 2020 to 2021, tallying more than 100,000 last year. And during that same period, a staggering 41.1 million Americans were identified as needing SUD treatment. The data clearly point to the need for more effective and accessible care, including bringing to bear the most cutting-edge treatment offerings to help fight this highly stigmatized mental health issue.
