Every day, patients with opioid use disorder walk into clinics, emergency rooms, and hospitals — and leave without treatment. It's time to change that. Treat them when you meet them.
Opioid use disorder is one of the deadliest and most undertreated conditions in America. The gap between those who need help and those who receive it is costing lives every single day.
3.7% of adults and 3.6% of adolescents in the US currently need treatment for opioid use disorder.
Nearly half of all people who need OUD treatment will never receive it — often because providers don't offer it at the point of care.
Of those who do receive treatment, only 1 in 4 receive the gold-standard medication-assisted treatment proven to save lives.
Over 80,000 Americans die annually from opioid overdoses — a number that drops dramatically with proper medication treatment.
The concept is simple: when a healthcare provider encounters a patient who needs OUD treatment — in a clinic, an ER, a pain practice, anywhere — they treat them right then and there. No referral. No waiting. No lost opportunity. Just care, delivered at the moment it matters most.
Don't send patients away. Every provider with a DEA license can now prescribe buprenorphine for OUD — with no patient limits. Use that power.
Medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine reduces mortality by approximately 50%, improves social functioning, and dramatically reduces overdose risk.
Pair medication treatment with behavioral health services. The combination of addiction medicine and mental health support delivers the best outcomes.
The X-waiver is gone. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 means any DEA-licensed provider can prescribe buprenorphine to any number of patients today.
Traditional buprenorphine initiation requires patients to be in withdrawal first — a barrier that stops many from starting treatment. Microdosing changes that by allowing patients to start treatment without stopping their current medications.
Initiate a low dose of buprenorphine (typically less than 1mg). The patient can continue their current medications — no forced withdrawal.
Slowly increase the buprenorphine dose over 7 to 14 days until a therapeutic dose is reached, monitoring for symptoms throughout.
Once a therapeutic buprenorphine dose is reached, the full opioid agonist can be promptly discontinued — no taper needed.
Pair medication with behavioral health services — ideally daily during induction. Licensed counselors and telehealth options make this accessible.
Buprenorphine is one of the most effective and safest tools available for treating opioid use disorder. Its unique pharmacology makes it both powerful and safer than traditional opioids.
Estimated 50% reduction in mortality among people with OUD. Simply starting treatment saves lives.
Unlike traditional opioids, buprenorphine has a plateau effect — even very high doses are well tolerated, dramatically reducing overdose risk.
Any DEA-licensed provider can prescribe buprenorphine for OUD with no patient caps since the 2023 repeal of X-waiver requirements.
Improved social functioning, decreased infectious disease transmission, reduced crime, better quality of life, and higher treatment retention rates.
Dr. Lynch is a double board-certified and fellowship-trained pain management physician and anesthesiologist, with 17 years' experience treating all types of chronic pain conditions. Throughout his career, Dr. Lynch has focused on providing comprehensive and evidenced-based treatment, with vigilant attention to the standard of care and best practices.
Dr. Lynch continues to actively see patients in a clinical setting, treating the most complex and difficult chronic pain conditions. He has extensive experience performing interventional pain management procedures, including advanced procedures such as spinal cord stimulation, minimally invasive lumbar decompression, and sacroiliac joint fusion.
Dr. Lynch is also focused on research and the advancement of chronic pain treatment, publishing over 30 journal articles relevant to pain management, specifically regarding the use of interventional procedures and practice of comprehensive pain management with responsible opioid prescribing. He has taught extensively across the country to other physicians regarding the same topics.
"My philosophy as a physician is to treat every patient as if they were my own mom or dad. When you walk into a patient room with this mentality, it can completely change your approach and interaction with the patient. While my care delivery is driven by medical knowledge, it is important to remember you are treating a person, not just another number. By bringing the focus back to 'is this what I would do for my own mom?', you reset your thinking to include not only your education and experience, but also compassion and human emotion. I became interested in pain management when I was in medical school, as I experienced my mother-in-law suffering from end-stage pancreatic cancer. I became completely enmeshed in her care and saw how vitally important it was to provide pain relief and comfort to a patient suffering from pain. I often still think of that experience in my day-to-day practice now, as I meet with patients and their family members. I can see myself in their shoes and know how desperately they want help for their loved one. My motivation as a physician is to provide the best possible care for these patients, knowing that is what I would want if it were my own mom or dad."
Dr. Lynch's commitment to treating opioid use disorder is also deeply personal — his own brother dealt with opioid use disorder and heroin addiction. This experience reinforced his belief that patients with mental health and addiction issues deserve the same urgency, compassion, and quality of care as patients with cancer, heart disease, or any other painful condition. If you have questions or would like to get involved in the mission, please don't hesitate to reach out directly.
Whether you're a provider, a health system, a payer, or someone who has been affected by the opioid crisis — there is a role for you in this movement.