Substance Use & Recovery Care
Support for change— without judgment or labels.
Alderon’s substance-use and recovery model is being built for adults age 18 and older around respectful, practical primary care. Some people want to cut back. Some want to stop. Others are worried about alcohol, nicotine, medications, or another substance and are not sure what the next step should be. The planned model starts with understanding current use, safety, health effects, and the patient’s own goals without requiring a single definition of recovery.
- Private clinical care through secure systems
- Patient-centered recovery goals
- Safety-focused practical next steps
Your planned recovery-support framework
Pre-launch modelSubstance Use Treatment at Alderon
A useful first step does not have to be a dramatic one.
Alderon’s planned substance-use care starts with understanding what is happening now and identifying a realistic goal. The goal may be stopping completely, reducing use, improving safety, understanding a medication, or deciding what kind of support should come next. The right plan depends on the substance, pattern of use, withdrawal risk, medical and psychiatric context, and the patient’s priorities.
Patient resource: Learn about substance use treatment options and how to locate specialized care through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (opens in a new tab).
Medication treatment resources: SAMHSA specifically recognizes physician assistants / associates with the required DEA Schedule II–V authority, where state law allows, as eligible to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder without the former X-waiver. SAMHSA guidance for physician assistants / associates (opens in a new tab).
Alcohol and nicotine medication resources: NIAAA — medications for alcohol use disorder · CDC — FDA-approved quit-smoking medications
Understand what is happening now
Once care is established, review what substances are being used, how often, what concerns are present, and whether withdrawal, overdose risk, or another immediate safety issue may require a higher level of care.
Clarify your goal
Reduction, abstinence, harm-reduction strategies, medication treatment, or specialty referral may all be reasonable next steps depending on the condition, safety profile, and patient goals.
Use treatment that fits the condition
Once services are live, primary care may address selected substance-use conditions with counseling, noncontrolled medication, preventive care, harm reduction, and ongoing follow-up when clinically appropriate.
Escalate when a higher level of care is safer
Severe withdrawal, overdose risk, psychiatric crisis, or complex substance-use disorder may require urgent, supervised, inpatient, or specialized substance-use treatment rather than routine telehealth care.
Substance Use Treatment May Include
More than one path to change.
Alderon’s planned model focuses on health effects, safety, evidence-informed treatment options, harm reduction, and the goals that matter to the individual patient.
Alcohol-use concerns
Planned care may include screening, goal setting, counseling, FDA-approved medications such as naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram when appropriate, selected evidence-supported off-label options, monitoring, and referral when a higher level of care is needed.
Tobacco & nicotine
Planned care may include counseling, nicotine-replacement therapy, varenicline, bupropion SR, combination treatment, and ongoing follow-up for cigarettes, vaping, or other nicotine use when appropriate.
Cannabis, stimulants & other drugs
Planned care may include nonjudgmental assessment of health effects, safety, goals, treatment of co-occurring conditions, evidence-supported behavioral treatment, selected off-label pharmacotherapy when appropriate, and specialty referral when useful.
Harm reduction & overdose prevention
Planned care may include education about overdose risk, naloxone, dangerous combinations, and practical harm- reduction steps that can reduce risk.
Prescription-medication concerns
Planned care may review opioids, sedatives, benzodiazepines, stimulants, and other medications that may contribute to dependence, withdrawal, interactions, or safety concerns, and may include structured taper or medication-treatment planning when clinically appropriate.
Ongoing follow-up
Once care is established, primary-care support may address recovery, return-to-use risk, sleep, nutrition, mental health, medical consequences, and connection to additional services.
Substance Use Treatment Options
Use every evidence-based tool that fits the diagnosis—including medication.
When services are live, treatment may include behavioral strategies, controlled or noncontrolled medications when clinically appropriate, nicotine treatment, alcohol-use- disorder treatment, medications for opioid use disorder, preventive care, harm reduction, recovery support, and referral to specialized addiction services. Medication choice depends on the substance involved, diagnosis, withdrawal or overdose risk, comorbid conditions, contraindications, patient goals, monitoring needs, and the prescribing rules that apply in the patient’s state.
At launch, appropriate care may include
- Opioid use disorder: buprenorphine / buprenorphine- naloxone when appropriate, naltrexone when clinically suitable, naloxone access, and referral to an opioid treatment program when methadone is the appropriate medication
- Alcohol use disorder: naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram when appropriate; selected off-label options such as gabapentin or topiramate may be considered when supported by the clinical situation
- Alcohol withdrawal: medically managed withdrawal may include benzodiazepine treatment for appropriately selected patients with a safe monitoring plan; high-risk or severe withdrawal requires a higher level of care
- Tobacco and nicotine: varenicline, bupropion SR, nicotine-replacement therapy, combination nicotine-replacement therapy, counseling, and quit support
- Stimulant or cannabis use disorders: behavioral treatment, contingency-management or specialty referral, treatment of co-occurring conditions, and selected off-label pharmacotherapy when the evidence and individual clinical situation support it; no medication is currently FDA-approved specifically for stimulant or cannabis use disorder
- Sedative or benzodiazepine concerns: medication review, individualized taper planning when appropriate, and supervised or higher-acuity withdrawal care when abrupt discontinuation could be dangerous
- Harm reduction: naloxone prescribing or access, overdose-risk counseling, safer-use counseling, HIV / hepatitis / STI prevention, vaccination, and connection to syringe-service or other local harm-reduction resources where available
- Recovery support: behavioral-health referral, peer recovery resources, mutual-help options, medical follow-up, relapse / return-to-use prevention planning, and treatment of co-occurring primary-care conditions
Opioid Use Disorder
Buprenorphine treatment can be part of Alderon’s initial opioid-use-disorder pathway.
Evidence-based controlled-substance treatment may be part of initial launch.
Alderon’s initial substance-use pathway is designed to include buprenorphine for opioid use disorder when clinically appropriate and when the treating prescriber holds the required federal and state prescribing authority. Federal law no longer requires the former DATA 2000 X-waiver for buprenorphine treatment of opioid use disorder. Care may also include naloxone, naltrexone, medical monitoring, harm reduction, counseling, recovery support, and specialty referral. Methadone for opioid use disorder is not prescribed from a routine office-based primary-care practice and requires an opioid treatment program under federal rules.
Telehealth-First Recovery Support
Some recovery care works well virtually. Some does not.
Controlled-substance telehealth rules are changing at the federal level. Alderon will apply the DEA / HHS rules in effect at the time of prescribing, together with the laws of the state where the patient is physically located.
Once services are live, screening, counseling, medication initiation or follow-up—including buprenorphine for opioid use disorder when permitted— nicotine treatment, alcohol-use treatment, and recovery support may be appropriate for telehealth. Controlled- substance prescribing remains subject to the federal and state rules, DEA registration, PDMP, identity, telemedicine, and clinical requirements in effect for the patient’s location. Withdrawal, intoxication, overdose risk, or other safety concerns may require local, supervised, urgent, or emergency care.
At launch, Alderon’s planned scope may include:
- Substance-use screening and assessment
- Goal setting and treatment planning
- Controlled and noncontrolled medication management when clinically appropriate and legally permitted
- Naloxone and overdose-prevention education
- Recovery follow-up and specialty coordination
When Urgent Care Is Safer
Withdrawal and overdose can become medical emergencies.
Do not wait for a routine telehealth visit when safety is at risk.
Severe alcohol or sedative withdrawal, seizures, hallucinations, confusion, significant intoxication, suspected overdose, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, severe medical symptoms, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, or another immediate safety concern should not wait for an Alderon response or routine telehealth visit. Call 911 or seek emergency care when appropriate. If there is an immediate suicide or mental-health crisis in the United States, call or text 988.
Related Care
Keep recovery connected to the rest of your health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Substance use treatment and recovery care, explained.
Do I need to be ready to quit before making an appointment?
No. Once services are live, care can begin by discussing what is happening, what concerns you, and what you would like to change. Reducing use, stopping, improving safety, or simply understanding your options can all be reasonable starting points.
Can primary care provide substance use treatment?
For some patients, yes. Once services are live, primary care may support selected substance-use conditions through counseling, noncontrolled medications, alcohol or nicotine treatment, medical monitoring, prevention, harm reduction, and recovery follow-up. More complex conditions may require specialized treatment or a higher level of care.
Does Alderon help with smoking or vaping?
Yes, once services are live. Tobacco and nicotine treatment may include counseling, appropriate medication options, and ongoing follow-up.
Does Alderon prescribe buprenorphine?
Yes, buprenorphine treatment is intended to be part of Alderon’s initial substance-use pathway when clinically appropriate and when the prescriber and practice meet the federal and state requirements that apply in the patient’s location. The former federal X-waiver is no longer required. Methadone for opioid use disorder remains an opioid-treatment- program pathway rather than routine office prescribing.
Can Alderon prescribe controlled medications for substance-use treatment?
Yes, when a controlled medication is evidence-based for the diagnosis, clinically appropriate, within the prescriber’s scope and DEA authority, and permitted by the federal and state prescribing and telemedicine rules in effect for the patient’s location. Buprenorphine for opioid use disorder is an intended Alderon pathway. Methadone for opioid use disorder is different: federal law generally requires treatment through an opioid treatment program.
Is substance-use care confidential?
Once a patient-care relationship is established, substance-use information handled by Alderon as protected health information is subject to applicable healthcare privacy requirements and, where applicable, specialized substance-use confidentiality rules. Do not submit substance-use, withdrawal, overdose, or medication-misuse details through public website forms.
What if I think I am in withdrawal?
Potentially dangerous withdrawal—especially from alcohol or sedative medications—should not be managed through Alderon’s interest list or a routine telehealth visit. Significant or worsening symptoms may require urgent, supervised, or emergency medical evaluation.
Substance Use & Recovery Care
Interested in recovery care that starts with one honest conversation.
Alderon’s planned model is designed to support adults whose goals may include reducing use, stopping, improving safety, starting evidence-based medication treatment, or building recovery support—and to identify when primary care is appropriate versus when specialty or higher-acuity treatment is safer.