ivon Recovery

Vivon sends testing alerts to our monitored clients at random intervals during the day, using algorithmic analysis and input from treatment specialists customized to each individual. We also utilize location tracking systems to send testing alerts when our newly recovering clients enter high-risk zones - Restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, etc. 

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Sobereye is far superior to any other biologically corroborative testing modality currently available. 

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• The device is compact and portable. It can be kept in a desk drawer, carried in a brief case, purse, or gym bag. 

• The test only takes one minute, and can be conducted anywhere there is a wifi connection.

• The test is non-invasive and doesn't require the sacrifice of one's dignity by urinating in front of strangers.

• The system allows for efficacious randomization of test intervals during the day - invoking the power of the loss-aversion psychological construct, and disrupting the dysfunctional delay-discounting behavioral characteristic inherent in those newly recovering from SUD. 

• Sobereye significantly reduces the expectation of escaping detection, invoking the power of the peer as an influential agent for the adaption, development, and maintenance of long-term abstinent behaviors.  

• It detects impairment caused by alcohol and the entire spectrum of psychoactive drugs, preventing a person from avoiding detection by substituting an esoteric substance of misuse for his drug of choice.

• Sobereye's Iris recognition feature accurately ensures the identity of the monitored client.   

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Sobereye detects not only impairment caused by substance use, but will also alert to other neurological abnormalities and extreme fatigue, without differentiation as to cause. If one fails a Sobereye check, it doesn't necessarily indicate relapse. If a Sobereye check is failed, the client is required to obtain a 14 panel urinalysis test within 48 hours, at a local testing facility designated by Vivon. If it isn't possible to obtain a urine test within that time frame, the client is required to obtain a hair follicle test as soon as possible. 

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Hair follicle analysis

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We also require clients to obtain a hair follicle test every 80 days. The hair follicle test has a long look-back window with the ability to detect the use of alcohol and other drugs of  misuse, over the prior three months. Hair follicle testing supplements the Sobereye system. Sobereye only detects substance use when the monitored individual is impaired, which is why Sobereye test alerts are sent daily at random intervals. The hair follicle is a catch all, providing near absolute biological corroboration of consistent abstinence. 

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Why not just require the hair follicle test? 

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Addicts in early recovery struggle with extremely powerful craving, causing highly compulsive use behavior to sate the craving "right now," with little to no regard for future negative consequence. This is the dysfunctional delay-discounting phenomenon inherent in addiction. This behavioral phenomenon is a major driver of active use cycles. The farther down the road the discovery of use, the less effective the negative consequence of getting caught is as a deterrent to succumbing to the immediate, temporal craving. The Sobereye system effectively compresses the lag time between expected discovery and consequence, creating a powerful incentive to forego use. But Sobereye only detects use while the individual is impaired, creating a small chance of avoiding detection. Utilizing daily Sobereye checks in combination with the near absolute certainty of the hair follicle test, creates an exceptionally powerful negative reinforcement regime that greatly assists the newly recovering individual to resist the impulse to use and resume another destructive active use cycle.  

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Why not use urinalysis? 

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Urinalysis is the most common method of drug testing. Urine test cups, or strips, typically range from five panel formats (tests for the five most common drugs of abuse, including alcohol), to a more expansive 14 drug panel test kit. Results are generated immediately, but for employment monitoring purposes, samples are usually sent to a lab for a more stringent analysis. Urinalysis is accurate and modern test cups now include a temperature confirmation strip, making it difficult, though not impossible, to substitute another person's clean urine sample to foil detection. 

 

The problem with using urinalysis as the foundation of a monitoring program is threefold. First, it is logistically impracticable. Most drugs of abuse, including alcohol, have a claimed urinalysis detection window of 3 days (marijuana is the one drug with a much longer detection window). In reality, the detection window can be far smaller depending on the drug and the individual's unique metabolism. In order to ensure uninterrupted abstinence, urine testing should be conducted every other day. Urinalysis requires the test taker to provide the sample at a testing facility, in front of a monitor. Even in urban areas where test facilities are more readily available, travel to a testing facility, coupled with wait and test times typically consume at least two hours (Much longer in more rural areas where testing facilities aren't local). Busy legal professionals don't have the time to interrupt their schedules for two or more hours every other day.  

 

The second issue is cost. Urinalysis tests are expensive. They cost anywhere from $40 to $70 each. The direct cost of ensuring abstinence with a urinalysis monitoring program runs between $600 to $1,050 a month, which consumes an entire aftercare budget. The expense of a Sobereye centric monitoring program is a fraction what urinalysis costs, and there is virtually no disruption to the recovering attorney's schedule.

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Third, time intensive, urinalysis centric monitoring programs take the focus away from doing the substantive, intrinsic work necessary to develop and cement abstinent belief systems that lead to sustained, life-long remission. Early recovery requires work, and work requires time, but we have only so much time in the "outside" world to allocate to recovery and the other requisites of daily life. Time, in the fragile early stages of remission, needs to be allocated in the most effective way possible. Maintaining the perception of recovery as a positive, growth experience is also critical. 

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We find that most recovering professionals in urinalysis based monitoring programs are grateful for the support that biological accountability provides, but they are also near universally resentful of the large chunk of time required to maintain compliance through urinalysis. Resentments, especially resentments towards recovery, often lead to cessation of all other recovery work and the resumption of active use. A Sobereye based monitoring platform eliminates the inordinate time commitment required by the traditional monitoring model, reducing resentment and reallocating limited time resources into the positive aspects of recovery that diminish craving, promote resilience, and sustain long-term remission.  

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Another consideration is the dignity of the recovering legal professional. One of the important goals of recovery is to restore self-esteem. Urinating in front of strangers tends to be damaging to the already fragile self-worth of those in early recovery. 

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Duration of Monitoring

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Neuroplastic brain change in recovery from SUD takes time. The phenomenon of craving remains active for months after quitting. It also takes time for the brain to restore higher-ordered cognitive inhibitory function to sustain long-term remission. The longer one in recovery remains abstinent, the greater the probability of developing stable biological brain change leading to long-term SUD remission. The experience of the pilots (HIMS program) and physicians (PHP program), indicates that monitoring is prudent for at least two years. Our standard monitoring protocol requires a two year commitment, subject to adjustment based on the recommendations of each client's SUD treatment provider.  

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Ethics

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The Vivon monitoring program ensures that law firms and legal service providers are complying with relevant ethical requirements when assisting an afflicted colleague to return to work and practice free of impairment as they begin their journey into sustained, long-term SUD remission. 

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