Opinion: Fixing the Troubled Mental Health System Journal of the American Medical Association The greatest benefits for people with mental (and addictive) disorders in the next decade will derive from providing better care based on current knowledge. Spending money effectively to treat persons with serious and persistent mental illness, reducing their rates of incarceration and homelessness, and providing care are among the great challenges in US society...
Pain and Emotional Distress Among Substance-Use Patients Beginning Treatment Relative to a Representative Comparison Group Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) These data present the magnitude of differences in health-related quality-of-life characteristics between treatment and comparison groups using the same assessment rubric and may help inform the design and timing of treatment modalities, thereby enhancing treatment efficacy for patients.
Understanding Compassion Fatigue SAMHSA This resource explains the causes and signs of compassion fatigue, the burnout and secondary trauma a disaster response worker can experience. It offers self-care tips for coping with compassion fatigue and discusses compassion satisfaction as a protective tool.
MA Senator Releases Comprehensive Plan to Address Opioid Addiction: ASAM Members are Urged to Ask their Senators to Support Ed Markey On October 14, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) released a plan to address the prescription drug and heroin crisis in the US. The plan details coordinated prevention, treatment and enforcement-based initiatives to curb the epidemic as well as specific policy recommendations included in a bill he introduced this summer, the TREAT Act. ASAM members are urged to ask their Senators to support the Act. Visit www.senate.gov
to find your senators’ contact information and ask them to “support the Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment Act (TREAT Act, S. 2645).” The TREAT Act supports an expansion of the 30/100-patient prescribing limitation on buprenorphine.
Medical Licensure to be Streamlined Under New Interstate Compact AMA Wire Physicians who wish to practice in multiple states could soon see a speedier process with fewer administrative and financial burdens as they pursue state medical licensure, thanks to an interstate compact released by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).
The Urgent Need to Consider the Role of Iatrogenic Addiction in the Current Opioid Epidemic American Journal of Public Health An epidemic of drug overdose deaths has led to calls for programs and policies to limit misuse and diversion of opioid medications. Any parallel call to consider the risk of iatrogenic addiction when treating pain has been muted in comparison. We have moved beyond questions of nonmedical use, abuse, and diversion to highlight the role of prescription opioids in causing addiction even when prescribed and used appropriately...
Baclofen for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence and Possible Role of Comorbid Anxiety Alcohol and Alcoholism In spite of the small sample for a 3-arm clinical trial, this study suggests a specific role of baclofen in alcohol-dependent individuals with comorbid anxiety. Replication in larger, fully-powered studies is required.
Age of Onset of Dependence: Does it Help Our Understanding of Opioid Dependence by Generating Meaningful Categories or by Acting as a Useful Dimension? - A Critical Examination of the Classic Debate in Psychiatry Indian Journal of Psychiatry The authors studied if early-onset (EO) and late-onset (LO) subjects differ significantly on 'validating variables' from five explanatory domains: Clinical (severity), genetic (family history), psychological (sensation-seeking and impulsivity), neuropsychological (attention-concentration and executive functions), and neurophysiological (P300-evoked response potential).
Texas: UT Professor Co-Founds Austin’s First Recovery High School The Daily Texan Thirteen high school students in search of sobriety started their fall semester at Austin’s first recovery high school. Located on the third floor of the University Christian Church, University High School opened on August 25 to provide students who want to maintain sobriety with weekly online classes, peer support groups and mentorship from university students who have overcome addiction.
Pharmacological Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with Comorbid Drug Dependence Journal of Psychopharmacology Drug dependence is frequent in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Mixed results were obtained in this study: while pharmacological interventions improved ADHD symptoms, no beneficial effect on drug abstinence or on treatment discontinuation was noted. The strength of the recommendation of pharmacological treatment for co-occurring ADHD and SUD is therefore modest.
‘If We Control Those Prescriptions, We Control the Disease’ Al Jazeera On Sunday, September 28, more than a thousand people converged on Washington, DC, to remember loved ones lost to opioid overdoses and compel the government, specifically the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to more strictly regulate the use of this class of painkillers. This was the second rally organized by Fed Up!, a national coalition of consumer advocacy organizations, medical experts, recovering addicts and friends and family members of victims...
Electronic Health Records Systems: Testing the Limits of Digital Records’ Reliability and Trust Ave Maria Law Review This article summarizes systemic defects in our nationally mandated healthcare information systems. The authors examine the critical doctrines animating our current evidentiary rules. Time after time our medical records systems are revealed to be defective...
ASAM’s Partnership with Collaborative for REMS Education ASAM Physicians can learn about balancing the risks of addiction, abuse and overdose with the benefits of prescribing extended release and long acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesics for patients suffering with severe chronic pain. ASAM is working with CO*RE, the Collaborative for REMS Education, to provide educational opportunities. These include an iBook, Medscape activity, live presentations, and online education, all free of charge.
ABAM Board Exam in One Year; ASAM Offering July Review Course ASAM The American Board of Addiction Medicine will be offering another board exam in 2015. It will take place mid-October next year. Applications are due December 15 for the early deadline, April 30 for the regular and July 1 for the final. To aid in studying, ASAM will be offering another Review Course July 30 – August 1, 2015 in Florida. Stay tuned for more details, and check back with the ASAM website!
Richard G. Soper, MD, JD, MS, FASAM, Editor-in-Chief, ASAM Weekly
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The views and positions of any content published in ASAM Weekly are not necessarily endorsed by ASAM nor a reflection of ASAM's beliefs and policies. The features are presented as a summary of the contemporary issues being represented and expressed in scientific, governmental, commercial, and media sources across the specialty field of addiction medicine. Contact ASAM Weekly with any comments or feedback.