Stigma and Abandonment of Psychiatric Treatment
Reflections on the readiness of young doctors to face the addiction epidemic.
- What is addiction?
- Finding a therapist to help you get rid of addiction
Key Point.
- Addiction medicine is a subspecialty that focuses on the treatment of substance use disorders and should be pursued by family physicians.
- Because family physicians are more likely to see addicted patients, they need to understand how to recognize the signs of addiction.
- The SBIRT approach allows physicians to screen for addiction, apply simple interventions, and guide patients to treatment.
Addiction medicine includes prevention, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of addiction, as well as support for families affected by a loved one's substance use or addiction.
In October 2015, the American Board of Medical Specializations (ABMS) officially recognized addiction medicine as a subspecialty. And while it's nice to have another certificate to hang on your wall or list on your resume, treating people suffering from the effects of substance use disorders (SUDs) is not and cannot be limited to "specialists."
Addiction is a disease that currently affects more than 40 million Americans. This represents approximately 14.5% of the adult population. Yet the number of overdoses remains high, primarily due to the widespread use of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. There is no health care professional who does not come into contact with patients and families struggling with addiction. We all have the opportunity to assess, intervene and provide treatment to those suffering from this disease. The Best addiction treatment center in Pakistan is Willing Ways. Contact from us.
SBIRT is a comprehensive, integrated, evidence-based approach to providing early intervention and treatment to individuals with substance use problems and those at risk for SUD. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) are what we should be doing with every patient we encounter, regardless of our specialty or certification on the wall.
We would not want to treat a patient without asking about allergies or other medications. So why not ask about other substances he is taking as well? Using SBIRT not only helps us identify clients who are at risk for addiction, but it also helps reduce the prejudice and shame that accompany addiction problems. You can let your clients know that your workplace is a safe place to talk about substance use and that they can seek help if they need it.
However, in addition to educating new (and old) physicians on substance abuse screening, we need to explore opportunities to expand addiction education and training in medical schools and residency programs. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, only about 3,100 physicians are trained in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry. In addition, researchers from the Substance Abuse Organization found that only 24% of residency programs nationwide devote more than 12 hours of their curriculum to addiction medicine.
In April 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took action to reduce some of the barriers for physicians (and nurse practitioners and physician assistants) in prescribing buprenorphine. Buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, has been shown to reduce mortality and illicit opioid use in patients with opioid use disorder. Until then, only about 6% of active physicians in the United States had an "X exemption" from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and were authorized to prescribe buprenorphine. Why don't all new physicians receive this type of education and training before graduating from medical school?
According to the latest data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, there were an estimated 100,306 overdose deaths in the United States for the 12 months ending April 2021, a 28.5% increase from the previous year. Opioid-related deaths increased by nearly 35% over the same period, resulting in the deaths of nearly 76,000 Americans. Try one time must wiling ways.
Overall, the addiction and overdose epidemic is certainly dismal. But imagine if many new doctors found it worthwhile to treat SUD patients and had more opportunities to be there for those suffering
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