People interested in doing a drug or alcohol detox often have questions about Novus. You'll find most of the answers in our Frequently Asked Questions.

Q: Where is Novus located?

Answer: Novus is located in New Port Richey, Florida, an easy 45 minute drive from the Tampa International Airport. Please see the map below. Novus provides complimentary car service to pick up patients flying in to the Tampa International Airport and return them to the airport when they have completed their detox.

Q: What is the cost?

Answer: Patients coming to Novus for a detox program to handle addiction to drugs or alcohol pay a single daily rate for their medical detox services. The only additional charges are for personal items that are not related to your medical detox. For more information please call our Admissions Counselors at 1.800.505.6604.

Q: Do you use any medications to help your patients detox?

Answer: Novus is a medical detox facility and medications are used to help you safely and more comfortably complete your drug or alcohol detox. Our Medical Director uses Suboxone and Subutex to help make withdrawal from heroin, methadone, OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet and other opiates more comfortable. Our Medical Director uses other medications to assist our patients withdrawing from other prescription drugs and from alcohol. In addition, as a medical facility, Novus uses other medications to assist patients with the symptoms that accompany withdrawal.

Q: Do you use only medications to treat patients?

Answer: We believe that for a drug or alcohol detox to be successful you need to treat the whole person. We provide a quiet, peaceful environment, good food and a caring staff, along with vitamin IV drips, natural vitamins and herbs.

Q: Will I be given medication to prevent pain, discomfort or sickness?

Answer: Our entire staff works hard to ensure that the Novus detox experience is as comfortable and pleasant as possible. The medical staff will monitor your progress and, if needed, will provide additional medication to help the patient with their drug or alcohol detox experience.

Q: Do you accept insurance?

Answer: While Novus does not accept insurance as payment for its services, we do file claims on behalf of our patients to their insurance carriers. If the patient does have insurance coverage for their detox at Novus, the insurance company should reimburse the patient directly.

Q: Do you provide financing?

Answer: Novus has made arrangements with certain medical finance companies who will loan qualifying patients the funds to cover the cost of their detox at Novus.

Q: How long will my detox take?

Answer: Our average stay at Novus is 6-7 days. Of course, a detox can take more or less time because the actual length of time needed depends on the individual patient and the substance from which the patient is being detoxed.

Q: Why do I need a medical detox?

Answer: You need a medical detox for two reasons. First, it can be very dangerous, and in some cases fatal, to just stop drinking alcohol or taking certain types of medication. The second reason is that a “cold turkey” withdrawal is successful less than 5% of the time because of the intense discomfort the person experiences. At Novus, we use medications to reduce, or in some cases, largely eliminate the discomfort normally caused by a withdrawal from the drug.

Each one of us is different, so individualized detox programs are essential if one is to safely stop taking these drugs. For example, benzodiazepines are often prescribed for temporary pain relief. Taking these benzodiazepines on a long term basis will create mental and physical problems. Most people are unable to safely detox from benzodiazepines unless they are in a medically supervised environment with a carefully designed detoxification program.

Q: Is Novus also a rehab facility?

Answer: Novus offers only drug and alcohol detox services and recognizes that many of our patients will want to go to a rehab facility when they leave Novus. Novus will assist our patients to find an appropriate treatment facility.

Q: How do I know my confidentiality will be protected?

Answer: A very comprehensive pair of federal laws protects the confidentiality of patients undergoing a drug detox at Novus. We are a medical facility and your detoxification program, our records and your identity are not revealed to anyone without your written authorization.

Q: Is there any other way that the Novus detox program differs from other detox programs?

Answer: Unlike some detoxification programs that simply detox you from one drug but place you on another drug, when our patients leave Novus they will be safely off all medically unnecessary drugs.

Q: What will my accommodations be like at Novus?

Answer: Each Novus patient has a private room equipped with high speed internet access, a desk, a telephone with voice mail and a television with a DVD player to enjoy while detoxing.

Q: Why should I go to Novus for my detox and not a rapid detox facility?

Answer: Unlike at Novus, rapid detox facilities place their patients under a general anesthetic. While Rapid Detox promises that it will be a rapid process, the time for the detoxification program that they are describing is the actual time when the patient is under general anesthesia. Because of the strong drugs used and the shock this detoxification gives your body, most people require upwards of three to six days just to recover from being under this long. They also often have severe side effects. Rapid Detox claims that you can detox from a drug while under anesthesia for six to eight hours. However, Rapid Detox centers do not tell you that, like any time that you are under anesthesia for this long and because of the strong drug used for detoxification that is injected in your body, recuperation often takes from a few uncomfortable days to several weeks. If someone is considering Rapid Detox as a detoxification program, ask the provider about the types of symptoms experienced by Rapid Detox patients and how long these lasted. Additionally, quite often patients are placed on tranquilizers to assist them to recover from the resulting side effects of Rapid Detox and often become dependent on those drugs - thus requiring further detoxification. At Novus, there is no severe shock and in most cases you will be able to work or relax during your program and go home free of the drug and ready to fully resume your life or go on to further treatment in much better physical shape than when you arrived. (For more information see the June 21, 2007 Novus Newsletter which is found under "Learn More" on the Home page.)

Q: I still have questions about my drug or alcohol detox program. How do I get answers?

Answer: Please call 1.800.505.6604 or email us at info@novusdetox.com.

Back To Top