OneHealth Solutions gives recovering addicts more links to mobile resources

The developer of an online resource for recovering addicts is branching out with a mobile application designed to help users find a wide range of 12-step programs.

OneHealth Solutions, based in Solana Beach, Calif., launched OneRecovery OnTheGo to target people who are travelling or away from home, according to Chief Marketing Officer Drew Paxton. The app, available on iPhone and Android operating systems, currently covers a dozen programs, which offer more than 200,000 meetings around the country. Users enter their current location or a particular zip code or city and are given the locations of the nearest meetings, after which they can get directions, map the location, add a calendar item and share with friends.

"When you're away from home, that increases the chances of a relapse," Paxton said. "That's when you're most vulnerable and need this type of information."

The app is a natural extension of a resource launched roughly five years ago by David Metzler, a recovering addict who says drugs and alcohol nearly killed him. Originally named OneRecovery, the company developed its online SocialSolutioning platform offering "in-between-visit" services for recovering addicts, including videos, links to treatment centers and physicians, online chat networks with peers and "alumni," a recovery clock that enables those in treatment to mark their progress, and access to emoticons that allow users to identify their moods and cue others to potential problems.

"I really think we're filling a niche that hasn't been filled," said the company's chief medical officer, Laura Clapper, during a December 2011 interview. "Other online resources aren't HIPAA-compliant or even secure, and many don't offer real-time support and intervention."

According to Paxton, the company – which rebranded in May to OneHealth Solutions – saw success in a pilot with Aetna, and through that pilot saw the need to branch out to a mobile meeting finder app, as well as offering links to other "process addictions." That app now includes listings for:

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• Al-Anon
• Cocaine Anonymous (CA)
• Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA)
• Co-Dependents Anonymous (CODA)
• Debtors Anonymous (DA)
• Eating Disorders Anonymous (EDA)
• Gamblers Anonymous (GA)
• Marijuana Anonymous (MA)
• Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
• Nicotine Anonymous (NicA)
• Overeaters Anonymous (OA)

"This app not only encourages people to use the (OneHealth Solutions) platform, but also to join groups for continuous support," Paxton said, adding that recovering addicts average between two and three different addictions, and are therefore in need of more than one particular resource. 

While the company originally marketed to insurance companies and health plans, Paxton said national organizations, advocacy groups, large employers, and hospitals and other healthcare providers are now looking at OneHealth Solutions as a valuable resource.

"They're looking for ways to extend their current level of care management," he said. "We have great interest in this platform because it addresses the significant challenge that (these groups) face in getting people to change behaviors."

Paxton said the company will be adding several more groups to its app in the coming month, including support groups for certain chronic diseases.