November 5, 2012
Compiled & Edited by Sue Emerson – Publisher
Prior Edition: September 28, 2012
List of all News/Updates
MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT (MAT) AND OPIOID ABUSE/ADDICTION
- More Addictions Treated with Drug Therapy
- Methadone Protects Injected Drug Users from HIV Infection
- Reckitt to Discontinue Suboxone Tablets in U.S.
- As Prescription Painkiller Overdoses Mount, Researchers Outline Effective Approaches to Curb
Epidemic - Decrease in Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs Among U.S. Residents Fueled by Decrease
in Pain Reliever Use
HEALTHCARE REFORM, DRUGS, OBAMA/ROMNEY ON ADDICTION
- New American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Advocacy Paper – The Impact of
Managed Care on Addiction Treatment - Get Ready Now for Influx of Patients under Affordable Care Act, Expert Urges
- Dear Mr. President: A Modest Proposal No need to debate this: Treating addiction as a disease is
America’s greatest single opportunity to reduce costs to taxpayers, improve health and reduce
crime. - How Would the Candidates Debate Drugs?
Methadone reduces risk of HIV infection in people who inject drugs, a new study says.
Prescription painkillers are responsible for more fatal overdoses in the U.S. than heroin and cocaine combined. And while most states have programs to curb abuse and addiction, a new report from Brandeis University shows that many states do not fully analyze the data they collect.
In a document issued in September, ASAM acknowledged that “the current opioid abuse and opioid overdose epidemic in the U.S. is real and it is undoubtedly the cause of increased morbidity and mortality that has surpassed the numbers of people that have been killed as a result of motor vehicle accidents over the past several years. ASAM noted that “while there are many contributing factors involved, the interface of access to appropriated addiction treatment and affordability for the same is fertile ground to begin to plant the seeds for solutions.”
“Substance abuse treatment providers must take steps now to get ready for the influx of new patients they will begin to see in January 2014 as a result of the Affordable Care Act, according to an expert speaking at the National Conference on Addiction Disorders. Most behavioral health providers have not yet adequately begun to prepare for the “huge tsunami” of new patients, says Ron Manderscheid, PhD, Executive Director of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors.”
“Although Obama and Romney don’t agree on much, they both say that reducing the budget is a priority. What neither candidate realizes (or acknowledges) is a substantial cut that’s hiding in plain sight: call addiction a disease. Taking this simple step would not only reduce the federal tab, it also would cut state and local spending, lower crime, traffic accidents, suicides, domestic violence, homelessness, birth defects and a host of other devastating and costly health and social ills. This relatively simply policy change also would improve the health and productivity of Americans across the country. It’s a no-brainer.”
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