Podcasts · Money Making Conversations Master Class
Entrepreneur: He's making it easier for people with Opioid Use Disorder to commit to their methadone treatment program.
· 28 min
Episode Entrepreneur: He's making it easier for people with Opioid Use Disorder to commit to their methadone treatment program.
Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning!
Two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald, interviewed Dr. Michael Giles.
A psychiatrist and healthcare entrepreneur who founded Sonara Health, a technology platform designed to improve treatment access and retention for people suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD). Drawing on his experience working in opioid treatment programs (OTPs), Dr. Giles developed a digital solution that allows patients receiving methadone treatment to demonstrate medication compliance remotely, reducing the burden of daily clinic visits.
The discussion focuses on opioid addiction, methadone treatment, patient-provider trust, healthcare innovation, and how technology can improve outcomes for individuals struggling with substance use disorders.
Purpose of the Interview
The purpose of the interview was to:
• Raise awareness about opioid use disorder. • Explain how methadone treatment works. • Discuss barriers faced by patients receiving opioid treatment. • Introduce Sonara Health's digital monitoring platform. • Showcase healthcare innovation that improves patient outcomes. • Highlight entrepreneurship that creates social impact. • Explore how technology can increase treatment retention and recovery opportunities.
Key Takeaways
1. Opioid Addiction Continues to Devastate Communities
Dr. Giles emphasized that opioid use disorder remains a major public health crisis affecting:
• Individuals • Families • Communities • Healthcare systems
The consequences extend beyond addiction itself and often include:
• Overdose deaths • Family disruption • Economic hardship • Community instability
Key Point: Opioid addiction remains one of the most significant public health challenges in America.
2. Methadone Is an Effective Treatment
Methadone is commonly used to help individuals manage opioid dependence.
The medication helps:
• Reduce withdrawal symptoms • Stabilize patients • Lower relapse rates • Decrease overdose risk
However, treatment often requires strict supervision.
Key Point: Methadone can be life-saving when appropriately administered.
3. Traditional Methadone Programs Can Be Burdensome
A major challenge discussed during the interview is the requirement that many patients visit clinics daily.
This creates difficulties for people who:
• Work full-time • Attend school • Raise children • Lack transportation • Live far from treatment centers
Daily clinic visits can become obstacles to maintaining normal life responsibilities.
Key Point: Recovery should fit into a person's life rather than make rebuilding life more difficult.
4. Sonara Health Was Born From a Practical Problem
The idea for Sonara Health emerged during Dr. Giles' psychiatry residency.
While working in an opioid treatment program, he noticed that physicians often hesitated to provide take-home methadone doses because they lacked confidence that medications would be used correctly.
This revealed a core issue:
Lack of Patient-Provider Trust
Dr. Giles realized technology could help bridge that gap.
5. Technology Can Strengthen Trust
Sonara Health's platform allows patients to verify medication use remotely.
The process includes:
• Accessing the application. • Scanning a medication-specific QR code. • Recording themselves taking the medication. • Securely transmitting the information to their treatment team.
This provides accountability while reducing unnecessary clinic visits.
Key Point: Better information creates greater…
Links in the notes 4
Transcript
Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.