The latest news, tips and updates
from The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
Eleven health professional schools have been chosen by the National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium to be designated Centers of Excellence in Pain Education. These centers will enhance and improve how health professionals are taught about pain and its treatment.
New guidelines published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association recommend that older current or former heavy smokers receive yearly CT scans to detect lung cancer.
Teens who complete a five-minute computer screening program that includes six questions about alcohol and drug use, and who talk with their pediatrician briefly about the results, reduce their risk of drinking up to one year later, according to a new study.
Stolen or fabricated prescription pads are contributing to the surge in prescription drug abuse, experts say. There is a growing call for computer systems that directly link doctors to pharmacies, to avoid this problem.
Doctors caring for pregnant women addicted to opioids may face a difficult choice—should they treat with methadone or buprenorphine? Physicians must consider the individual circumstances of the mother, says Karol Kaltenbach, PhD, Director of Maternal Addiction Treatment Education and Research at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.
A Medicaid provider in Kentucky has announced it will stop paying for the opioid addiction medication buprenorphine. A doctor who prescribes the medication says the company’s decision could lead to serious complications, relapse and even overdose deaths.
Ohio Governor John Kasich has announced new guidelines to fight prescription drug abuse, which aim to restrict painkiller prescriptions written in hospital emergency rooms.
A Massachusetts law passed in 2006 that expanded insurance coverage did not lead to an increase in the number of state residents who received inpatient treatment for drug and alcohol abuse at state-contracted facilities, according to a new study.
Women physicians with substance abuse problems differ in some significant ways from their male counterparts, according to the medical director of Virginia’s Health Practitioners’ Monitoring Program. Yet little research has been done about the best ways to treat these women, she says.
Many emergency room physicians say they see many patients who come in asking for painkillers for dental pain. These doctors must decide whether the patients are truly suffering from dental problems, or are simply seeking an easy way to collect painkillers, The New York Times reports.
Follow Us:
We would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the SAG-AFTRA in the ongoing success of this initiative.
