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HHS Leaders Call for Expanded Use of Medications to Combat Opioid Overdose Epidemic
A national response to the epidemic of prescription opioid overdose deaths was outlined in the New England Journal of Medicine by leaders of agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The commentary calls upon health care providers to expand their use of medications to treat...
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Implementing a Buprenorphine Program in an Opioid Treatment Program
Acritical element to successfully treating opioid addiction and addressing the epidemic is offering a wide range of therapies. Due to the extreme dependence created by opioid use, Medication Supported Recovery is often necessary. For decades, Methadone; dispensed in an Outpatient Treatment Program...
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Integrated Treatment Model for Medication Assisted Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders
Individuals with substance use disorder have high rates of co-occurring medical disorders and are many times more likely to experience serious conditions such as heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and pulmonary disease than individuals without substance use disorders. Additionally, individuals...
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Prescription Drug and Heroin Epidemic A Central New York Perspective
Like much of the country, New York State is experiencing a public health crisis of a magnitude never before seen related to prescription opiate and heroin overdose and addiction. While efforts to address this crisis are multifaceted, many of those in need of treatment are unable to get the help...
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The NYSPA Report: A Multifaceted Approach to the Opioid Epidemic
There has been much discussion around NY State and the country about a surge in heroin usage and overdose deaths. Although the perception is that a drop in “doc shopping” caused the increase in heroin usage, the picture is complex and the history goes back further than some may realize. Heroin...
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The Opioid Addiction Epidemic: An Interview with Andrew Kolodny, MD, National Expert on the Current Opioid Addiction Epidemic in the United States
Ira Minot (IM): We are honored to have this opportunity to speak with you Dr. Kolodny. Our readers are anxious to learn about the current opioid epidemic. Andrew Kolodny (AK): I am very pleased that Behavioral Health News is devoting this issue to the current opioid epidemic. Opioid addiction is...
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Intensive Outpatient Programs: When More is Better
The world of substance abuse treatment has gone through a great deal of change in the last decade. In the past, when a person entered substance abuse treatment, there was an immediate assumption that they needed a 28-inpatient rehab in order to “recover”. However, this standard has been changed...
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Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery in Substance Use and Mental Illness
With the changes brought about by the growth of managed care, evidence-based practice and the advent of the Affordable Care Act, we increasingly recognize that substance use disorder and mental illness are behavioral health issues often found together in the same patient. The field of behavioral...
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We Don’t Treat Brains, We Treat People
The US government estimates there are 80,000,000 Americans with diagnoses of substance abuse, dependence or binge drinking patterns, and we treat a tiny, tiny fraction of them effectively. We spend billions on the war on drugs, on research and on treatment and yet have little overall impact on the...
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Implementing Best Practices – Seven Core Processes
Implementing best practice care for persons struggling with mental illness and substance use in real world settings can be challenging. At the Institute for Community Living (ICL), where we provide behavioral and physical health care for a widely diverse population and place strong emphasis on...
