Pathway Healthcare’s very own, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brent Boyett has been appointed by the Governor of Alabama to serve on the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council. We are very proud of Dr. Boyett and the work he has done in the drug and alcohol affected commuhttps://pathwayhealthcare.com/about-us/cmo-statement/nity. The council’s primary focus is to study the state’s current opioid crisis and set strategies to reduce the number of deaths and other adverse consequences of the opioid crisis in Alabama.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, in 2015 Alabama had the highest per capita number of opioid prescriptions of any state in the country. Pathway’s location in Madison, Alabama was a start to our mission to help those affected by drug and alcohol addiction and dependency. Under the direction and supervision of our experts like Dr. Brent Boyett, at Pathway Healthcare, we use proven treatment methods to help you break-free from the chains of addiction or dependency and to help start you on a pathway to recovery. We understand.We Care. We are Here To Help.
Read More:
HAMILTON – As heroin and prescription opioids cause a national overdose epidemic, Gov. Kay Ivey has called upon a local doctor to help the state combat the increasing threat. Hamilton physician Brent Boyett received an appointment from Ivey on Wednesday, Aug. 23, to the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council. Earlier this year, Boyett served about four months on the Alabama Council on Opioid Abuse and Addiction, which was in place under former Gov. Robert Bentley. While serving on the former council, Boyett traveled to Montgomery for committee meetings, where he served as a representative from the medical community. Boyett’s service largely involved discussions on implementing the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which was passed to increase access to care by forcing insurance com- panies to provide full benefits to those suffering from addiction. Boyett even delivered a presentation to the committee on the topic. The new council was only recently formed by Ivey’s Executive Order No. 708, which was issued on Tuesday, Aug. 8,
While serving on the former council, Boyett traveled to Montgomery for committee meetings, where he served as a representative from the medical community. Boyett’s service largely involved discussions on implementing the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which was passed to increase access to care by forcing insurance com- panies to provide full benefits to those suffering from addiction. Boyett even delivered a presentation to the committee on the topic.
The new council was only recently formed by Ivey’s Executive Order No. 708, which was issued on Tuesday, Aug. 8, superceding Bentley’s council that was created on Dec. 15, 2016. “This was a surprise to me,” Boyett said. “I don’t have a lot of answers right now.”
Boyett said that he has responded to the governor’s office asking for more details but has not yet received a response.
The executive order places more than 31 individuals on the council, including state officers, executives, representative, members of
the medical community and even includes two positions for former addicts and two for two family members of persons who are or have
been addicted to opioids.
Additional individuals will also participate as deemed appropriate by the governor. Boyett has fallen into this category. The council’s purpose is to study the state’s current opioid crisis and set strategies to reduce the number of deaths and other adverse consequences of the opioid crisis in Alabama. The council has been charged to develop and submit an action plan to the governor by Dec. 31. In the order, Ivey said that nearly 30,000 Alabamians over the age of 17 are estimated to be addicted to prescription painkillers or heroin. According to the Center for Public Integrity, in 2015 Alabama had the highest per capita number of opioid prescriptions of any state in the country, with a rate of 1.2 prescriptions for every resident. That year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 282 Alabama residents died from opioid overdoses.
Through six standing committees, the council will collaborate on such topics as data, treatment-recovery, law enforcement, prescriber-
dispenser, rescue (naloxone) and prevention-education.
The letter reads: “By this letter, I hereby appoint you to the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council established by Executive
Order No. 708, effective immediately. You will serve at the pleasure of the Governor as an additional member. Appointing you to this position comes with great responsibility because you will be making important decisions that affect the citizens of Alabama. Honesty and integrity are two virtues that I prioritize for my Administration to exemplify, and I know that you will do the same while in service to our great State. I encourage you to be a good steward of taxpayers’ money, and work to maintain the trust that I, and the people of Alabama, have in you. You are a servant of the people of Alabama, and I trust that you will fulfill your duties and set a standard for others to follow. “I appreciate your willingness to serve in this position, and I am confident that your time will be spent in a manner to improve the State of Alabama.
Sincerely, Kay Ivey.”
Over the years, Boyett has been vocal on this issue of addiction, serving as the state chapter president of the Alabama Society of Ad-
diction Medicine. Through his practice, Boyett Health Services, Inc., Boyett has also offered medication-assisted addiction therapy for recovering addicts.
