The Tri-City headquarters includes laboratory facilities that process medical samples from Ideal Option clinics nationwide. “We’d like to flip that because it gives us the ability to see more people.” “We see about 70 percent of people face-to-face and 30 percent through telemedicine,” Allgaier said. The Kennewick clinic, across from Costco, also offers on-site counseling for chemical dependency and mental health. Most patients are self-referred and can be treated for not just substance addiction, but for Hepatitis C, sexually transmitted diseases and screened for HIV.

Blue Cross Blue Shield also owns a stake in Ideal Option, while the original founders retained a small portion of ownership. In 2018, the founding doctors sold a majority stake in the company to private equity firm Varsity Healthcare Partners. The single Tri-City location grew to an eight-state operation with more than 65 clinics in the Northwest, Maryland, Minnesota and North Dakota. We just have the really good tools for opioid use disorder,” Allgaier said. “We treat opioid use disorder, but also other addictions like alcohol and benzodiazepine (commonly known as Valium). Brian Dawson, Ideal Option’s senior medical director, the two were rushing to meet the demand for their method of treatment. We had people coming from all over the state to here.”

So we knew we had to grow because there wasn’t anybody else. “It was hundreds and hundreds of patients. Jeffrey Allgaier, Ideal Option co-founder and chief medical officer. “As soon we started this, we had waiting lists through the roof,” said Dr.

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