Substance Use Disorder News and Research

RSS

Online learning module for medical residents can improve care of substance use disorder patients

Online learning interventions and small group debriefings can improve medical residents' attitudes and communication skills toward patients with substance use disorders, and may result in improved care for these patients, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University College of Medicine published online in Academic Medicine.

9 Oct 2014

Survey of veterans receiving mental health services finds general satisfaction

A survey of U.S. veterans receiving mental health services from the Veterans Health Administration finds general satisfaction, but also significant room for improvement among all areas studied.

21 Aug 2014

Medical advisory panel recommends new pneumonia vaccine for seniors

The experts expressed concern, however, that Medicare rules may hamper some people from getting the new vaccine if they have already had an older version. Also in drug issues, some patient advocates report that insurers are balking at paying for a costly drug to treat hepatitis C if the patients are in drug treatment programs.

15 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 14, 2014

Today's headlines include a report about an uptick in VA referrals to private physicians. Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports: "Some hospitals in New York, Florida and Wisconsin are exploring ways to help individuals and families pay their share of the costs of government-subsidized policies purchased though the health law's marketplaces – at least partly to guarantee the hospitals get paid when the consumers seek care.

14 Aug 2014

Seven Pennsylvania health centers receive federal funding to establish behavioral health services

Department of Public Welfare Secretary Beverly Mackereth today announced that seven Pennsylvania health centers will share $1.75 million in federal funding to establish or expand behavioral health services.

8 Aug 2014

New study casts doubt on the effectiveness of brief counseling for illicit drug use

In an effort to stem substance use, the U.S. has invested heavily in the past decade in a brief screening-and-intervention protocol for alcohol and other drugs.

7 Aug 2014

QUT to take a lead role in $6.5 million e-Mental Health in Practice initiative

QUT will take a lead role in delivering a $6.5 million e-mental health initiative to train primary health practitioners in the use of e-mental health services, announced by the Federal Government in Canberra today.

19 Jun 2014

Substance use linked to diagnostic instability in psychosis

Comorbid substance use increases diagnostic uncertainty in patients admitted to hospital with psychosis, Australian research shows.

30 Apr 2014

Standards of Care for the Addiction Specialist Physician released by ASAM

The American Society of Addiction Medicine announces its release of the Standards of Care for the Addiction Specialist Physician. Drafted by a diverse panel of addiction treatment providers, researchers and academicians and clinical outcomes experts, this document enumerates the essential treatment standards that should be met by a physician who manages or oversees the care of a patient with addiction and related disorders.

20 Feb 2014

NIDA releases guide on treating teen substance abuse

Resources to help parents, health care providers, and substance abuse treatment specialists treat teens struggling with drug abuse, as well as identify and interact with those who might be at risk, were released today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

24 Jan 2014

Distinct developmental trajectories for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Early diagnoses given to patients with a final diagnosis of bipolar disorder are markedly different from those given to patients with schizophrenia, a study shows.

14 Jan 2014

Minnesota professor receives Hazelden's Dan Anderson Research Award for hybrid CBT study

Matt G. Kushner, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) has earned the latest Dan Anderson Research Award for his study examining the effectiveness of a hybrid cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of individuals with co-occurring anxiety disorders and alcohol dependence.

7 Jan 2014

People with severe mental illness may have higher risk for substance use

People with severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a higher risk for substance use, especially cigarette smoking, and protective factors usually associated with lower rates of substance use do not exist in severe mental illness, according to a new study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

5 Jan 2014

Study reveals nearly 1 in every 100 anesthesiologist developed substance use disorder during training

According to a study conducted by Mayo Clinic and the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), nearly 1 in every 100 anesthesiology residents entering primary training from 1975 to 2009 developed substance use disorder (SUD) during training.

5 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Despite website woes, administration should be given more time; health law credibility 'going up in smoke'

The enrollment numbers are in, and as expected, they are well short of projections. Around 106,000 enrolled in new plans during October -; with approximately 27,000 coming from states where the federal government is running the exchange (with its extensive problems), and another 79,000 coming through the state exchanges. Republicans are gleefully pointing to the numbers as proof Obamacare needs to be scrapped entirely. That confirms two things we've long known to be true: the website is a disaster, and short term enrollment figures are a serious political problem for the White House and Democrats (Greg Sargent, 11/13).

15 Nov 2013

ABAM Foundation receives $2M grant to establish Center for Physician Training in Addiction Medicine

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) Foundation a three-year, $2 million grant to establish The National Center for Physician Training in Addiction Medicine.

1 Oct 2013

Drug misuse predicts protracted hospital stay for schizophrenia patients

Patients hospitalized with schizophrenia have more severe symptoms and spend longer in hospital if they have a concurrent substance use disorder, report researchers.

26 Sep 2013

Research roundup: 'Cadillac' plan taxes; 'chronic care management' for substance abusers; long-term care services

As health coverage expands to tens of millions of Americans--through Medicaid expansion in states and the new state health insurance exchanges that will soon begin selling individual health coverage--some Americans with employer-sponsored health coverage are seeing their benefits decrease.

21 Sep 2013

Mental and substance use disorders responsible for more death and illness worldwide

Mental and substance use disorders were the leading cause of non-fatal illness worldwide in 2010, according to a new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study, published in The Lancet.

29 Aug 2013

New study explores pathways that lead to jail time for women

How do pathways to jail vary for females who are victims of specific types of trauma? New research published in Psychology of Women Quarterly, a SAGE journal, pinpoints the types of trauma such as caregiver violence, witnessing violence, and intimate partner violence, that lead to specific types of offending later in life and offers explanations based on real experiences.

3 Aug 2013