Private Practice Suboxone while a Resident?

[BobA]

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Once I get my state license (any day now), I'm thinking of getting the suboxone training and opening a private practice prescribing suboxone.

I know I'd have to get malpractice insurance, and I imagine renting a local therapists office out on the weekends to do this. I'd be very responsible (checking urines) prescribing, and keep good records. I imagine I would not take insurance and would be cash only. Maybe $100 a visit, once a month to get your script.

What do people think of this? Is it a pipe dream? Staying within duty hours would not be a problem. Thanks!

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Once I get my state license (any day now), I'm thinking of getting the suboxone training and opening a private practice prescribing suboxone.

I know I'd have to get malpractice insurance, and I imagine renting a local therapists office out on the weekends to do this. I'd be very responsible (checking urines) prescribing, and keep good records. I imagine I would not take insurance and would be cash only. Maybe $100 a visit, once a month to get your script.

What do people think of this? Is it a pipe dream? Staying within duty hours would not be a problem. Thanks!

Usually when starting the induction, you'll want to see them more often to adjust the dose, or at the very least have them calling in--how are you proposing to manage this? How are your patient calls going to be managed? Are you collecting (witnessing/labelling/storing/submitting) the urines yourself? How are the results reported to you? There's a lot more too it than just hanging out a shingle...

 

[Chrismander]

Once I get my state license (any day now), I'm thinking of getting the suboxone training and opening a private practice prescribing suboxone.

I know I'd have to get malpractice insurance, and I imagine renting a local therapists office out on the weekends to do this. I'd be very responsible (checking urines) prescribing, and keep good records. I imagine I would not take insurance and would be cash only. Maybe $100 a visit, once a month to get your script.

What do people think of this? Is it a pipe dream? Staying within duty hours would not be a problem. Thanks!

Much more do-able if you hook up with an established suboxone provider that's already at his limit. If malpractice insurance hadn't been so expensive I'd have taken just such a job earlier this summer. Then you have established office support, a nurse to do the urines, and someone else working there during the week to return emergency calls if needed.

Also much easier if you can get a small panel of established stable patients transferred to you to get things started. Someone who's at their limit at chomping at the bit to take more might be willing to kick you a few monthlies so they can start seeing some weeklies again.

As has already been mentioned, if you're looking to do fresh patients, you'll probably have to be there more than once a week to do the induction.