The latest news, tips and updates
from The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
When Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi took office in 2011, Florida was in the midst of a public safety crisis of epic proportions – prescription drug abuse. This epidemic wasn’t just affecting adults. It was affecting increasing numbers of pregnant women throughout the state, which fueled an explosion in cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome, babies being born exposed to prescription drugs.
Primary care physicians should ask their adult patients about their drinking habits, and counsel those whose alcohol use is risky, according to a new report.
The American College of Chest Physicians this week recommended that older, heavy smokers receive annual low-dose CT scans to detect lung cancer, according to Reuters.
Patient safety experts are urging hospitals to require physicians to have random drug and alcohol tests. The tests should also be conducted if a patient dies suddenly or is injured unexpectedly during surgery, they write in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The Neurological Center for Pain’s Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program at the Cleveland Clinic has created a Chemical Education Track designed specifically for patients with chronic non-cancer pain who also have a therapeutic opioid addiction. Initial results are promising.
Clinicians who treat patients dealing with alcohol abuse often refer them to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), but many have never gone to a meeting and are not familiar with what goes on there, according to an expert on Twelve-Step programs.
The Medical Board of California has voted to support measures designed to fight prescription drug abuse, the Los Angeles Times reports. The board refused to transfer its investigators looking into physician misconduct in prescription drug abuse cases to the state Attorney General’s office.
Kathleen Tavenner Mitchell, Vice President and National Spokesperson for the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, explains why she founded The Circle of Hope, a mentoring program for birth mothers of children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders.
The parents of two young adults who were addicted to heroin are advocating for families to have greater access to their children’s health records. They say parents’ input is needed because of the nature of addiction, and young adults’ limited decision-making capabilities.
Some pain doctors say they are concerned the Food and Drug Administration’s decision earlier this week not to approve generic versions of the original version of OxyContin could lead to less effective drugs that are potentially addictive, NPR reports.
Follow Us:
