Addiction Treatment Falls Woefully Short – Can’t We Do Better?
By David Sack, M.D.
Millions of people know what it’s like to lose everything to addiction. Millions more know what it’s like to live with a parent or family member who abuses drugs or alcohol. What too many don’t know is how to get better. In spite of a large body of research showing that addiction is a chronic disease, only one in 10 addicts receives any form of treatment – often, treatment that falls woefully short of what we know works, according to a five-year study by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The Desperate State of Addiction Treatment
Thanks to scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that changes the function and structure of the brain. We know the risk factors and have effective ways to screen for the disease and intervene promptly. We have more information about the science of addiction than ever before, yet more people are addicted now than at any time in our history.
Science has shown us how we get addicted, but it hasn’t helped us understand how we get better. Part of the problem, as CASA reports, is that treatment hasn’t kept pace with science. But another part of the problem has been largely ignored, even in the recent CASA report. While treatment needs to catch up to science, I believe science also has some catching up to do. The millions of people suffering with addiction need more than scientific knowledge; they need practical, real world solutions that help them make critical decisions about their health. What is needed is a new blueprint for treatment – one that integrates a science-based model with 12-Step recovery programs. Instead of treating addiction solely as a brain disease (like diabetes and other medical conditions, it is also a complex behavioral disorder) and focusing on pharmacotherapy, we also need to closely examine the movement that has helped millions of addicts sustain a drug-free life: 12-Step recovery. Recovery is more than going to meetings, sharing stories and embracing random recovery principles; it is part of a neurophysiological process that reshapes the brain by remedying the deficits caused by drug and alcohol abuse.
We Can – and Must – Do Better
Addiction is a medical illness that requires medical care. We can, and must, do better in this area. But we would have an even greater impact if we also learned from the success of people in long-term recovery and considered the research supporting the efficacy of the 12-Step model. It is not an either/or proposition, for as any recovering addict knows, we need all the tools we can muster to beat this disease.
David Sack, M.D., is board certified in addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine. Dr. Sack served as a senior clinical scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where his research interests included affective disorders, seasonal and circadian rhythms, and neuroendocrinology. He currently serves as CEO of Elements Behavioral Health, a network of treatment programs that includes Promises, The Recovery Place, The Sexual Recovery Institute, and The Ranch.
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Summer Is Peak Time for Teens to Try Drugs, Alcohol: Report
Experts advise parents to be alert, help kids structure their days
More teenagers start drinking and smoking cigarettes and marijuana in June and July than in any other months, U.S. health officials say. During each of those summer days, more than 11,000 teens on average use alcohol for the first time, 5,000 start smoking cigarettes and 4,500 try marijuana, according to the report, which was released Tuesday by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
"These months include periods when adolescents are on a break from school and have more idle time; they have fewer structured responsibilities and less adult supervision," said Dr. H. Westley Clark, director of the administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
The findings are based on data from the administration's annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health for the years 2002 to 2012, which include interviews with more than 230,000 teens. December is the only other month in which substance-start rates approach June and July levels, according to the report. During the rest of the year, daily first-time alcohol use runs from 5,000 to 8,000 occurrences a day. Approximately 3,000 to 4,000 teens start smoking cigarettes, and about the same number try marijuana, according to the report. More teenagers start using hallucinogens and inhalants in the summer, the researchers found. There was, however, no such increase in those starting to use cocaine or abuse prescription drugs.
Parents need to know that summertime is when their teens are more likely to start smoking, drinking and using drugs, Clark said.
"Even though summer months are about free time, it is also about greater risk," he said. And parents need to talk to their children about these risks.
Among other programs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a Smart Summer campaign that encourages parents to help prevent children from using these substances by setting boundaries, monitoring activities and being involved in their kids' lives, Clark said.
Bruce Goldman, director of substance abuse services at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., said parents need to work with their kids to plan their time -- to have some structured activity every day. "You should have an open dialogue with your children in terms of what they're doing and about alcohol and drugs," he said. "The longer you can delay adolescents from experimenting with alcohol and drugs, the better their chances of not developing problems later in life," Goldman said. "It's critical that parents be alert."
Source: HealthDay News
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Methadone Linked to Three Out of Ten Prescription Painkiller Overdose Deaths
More than 15,500 people die every year of prescription drug overdoses, and nearly one-third of those overdoses involve the drug methadone, according to a Vital Signs report released recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers found that methadone accounts for only 2 percent of painkiller prescriptions in the United States, yet it is involved in more than 30 percent of prescription painkiller overdose deaths. Methadone has been used for decades to treat drug addiction, but in recent years it has been increasingly prescribed to relieve pain. As methadone prescriptions for pain have increased—more than 4 million prescriptions are written for the drug every year—so have methadone-related fatal overdoses. CDC results showed that six times as many people died of methadone overdoses in 2009 as died in 1999.
Learn more about this problem, spread the word to others, and take action: Visit the Vital Signs web page to find the Vital Signs MMWR article, fact sheet, podcast, and CDC.gov feature article.
________________________________________
And just to close out the week properly…..
Say what? Michigan deploys chatty urinal cakes in bars as part of anti-drunken driving effort
Michigan hopes to keep drunks off the road with the help from a special message in men's bathrooms featuring an attention-getting woman's voice. Talking urinal-deodorizer cakes have been distributed to Michigan Licensed Beverage Association members in Wayne County, including Detroit, state officials announced. A recorded message will play reminding men who step up to the urinals to call a cab or a friend, if needed, to get home safely.
"Not only do we want to turn some heads and get people talking, we hope everyone takes the message to heart," Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, said in a statement.
Bay, Ottawa and Delta counties also are getting them. The motion-activated messages are part of a statewide Fourth of July education and enforcement effort. The federally funded drunken driving crackdown runs through Sunday. It also includes stepped up patrols in 26 counties involving a number of agencies.
"At first it may be seen as humorous, but the seriousness of the message will stand out and encourage patrons to find a safe ride home," said Michigan Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Scott T. Ellis.
Talking urinal cakes have been used in other states for similar efforts.
By David Sack, M.D.
Millions of people know what it’s like to lose everything to addiction. Millions more know what it’s like to live with a parent or family member who abuses drugs or alcohol. What too many don’t know is how to get better. In spite of a large body of research showing that addiction is a chronic disease, only one in 10 addicts receives any form of treatment – often, treatment that falls woefully short of what we know works, according to a five-year study by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The Desperate State of Addiction Treatment
- Rather than helping, most forms of addiction treatment are hindering recovery and costing the public in the process. The CASA report identified the following specific problem areas:Stigma – One-third of Americans still regard addiction as a moral failing or a lack of willpower rather than a treatable disease. Addiction affects more Americans than other chronic health conditions, yet the disease is shunned by the medical community, CASA reports. Spending to treat addiction ($28 billion to treat 40 million people) falls far behind other conditions, such as diabetes ($44 billion to treat 26 million people), cancer ($87 billion to treat 19 million people) and heart conditions ($107 billion to treat 27 million people).
- Inadequate Training – Medical professionals are in a unique position to intervene in addiction. More than two-thirds of addicts are in contact with a physician about twice a year, CASA reports. But because most medical professionals have very little training or education in addiction, they are unprepared to provide simple screenings, a diagnosis, treatment or referrals. While doctors routinely screen patients for other chronic health conditions, they just as routinely overlook addiction, even though addiction is at the root of 70 other health problems, 20 percent of deaths in the U.S. and one-third of all hospital inpatient costs, according to CASA. Almost half of Americans say they would reach out to their health care provider for help with addiction, CASA reports, yet less than 6 percent of referrals to treatment come from health professionals. A much larger percentage (44.3 percent) comes from the criminal justice system, which is not surprising given our history of treating addiction as a crime rather than a disease.
- Lack of Quality Care – Because there are no clear national standards delineating who can provide addiction treatment in the U.S., the people providing care are often addiction counselors who may lack the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based treatment. In some states, these individuals are not required to be licensed or certified, and may only need a high school diploma or GED to qualify. Addiction counselors are valuable members of the treatment team, but do not always provide sufficient care alone. Because addiction is a medical illness, patients are better served by a multidisciplinary team that also includes physicians, nurses and graduate-level mental health professionals. Instead of being treated as a chronic disease that requires individualized care and ongoing management, addiction is too often treated as an acute condition that can be addressed within a few days. While the most reputable addiction treatment centers are accredited by independent bodies like CARF, many facilities are not reviewed, regulated or held accountable for their treatment practices. Because of these obstacles, patients are often left alone to sort through the vastly different treatment approaches without independent data to help them make informed decisions. Even when high-quality treatment is available, patients may be barred by cost considerations, stringent eligibility criteria, limited insurance benefits and long waiting lists.
- Insufficient Insurance Coverage – Private insurance has failed to provide adequate benefits for addiction treatment, leaving patients to try to cover their own costs. While private insurance covers 54.4 percent of costs in general health care spending, it covers only 20.8 percent of the costs of addiction treatment, CASA reports.
Thanks to scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that changes the function and structure of the brain. We know the risk factors and have effective ways to screen for the disease and intervene promptly. We have more information about the science of addiction than ever before, yet more people are addicted now than at any time in our history.
Science has shown us how we get addicted, but it hasn’t helped us understand how we get better. Part of the problem, as CASA reports, is that treatment hasn’t kept pace with science. But another part of the problem has been largely ignored, even in the recent CASA report. While treatment needs to catch up to science, I believe science also has some catching up to do. The millions of people suffering with addiction need more than scientific knowledge; they need practical, real world solutions that help them make critical decisions about their health. What is needed is a new blueprint for treatment – one that integrates a science-based model with 12-Step recovery programs. Instead of treating addiction solely as a brain disease (like diabetes and other medical conditions, it is also a complex behavioral disorder) and focusing on pharmacotherapy, we also need to closely examine the movement that has helped millions of addicts sustain a drug-free life: 12-Step recovery. Recovery is more than going to meetings, sharing stories and embracing random recovery principles; it is part of a neurophysiological process that reshapes the brain by remedying the deficits caused by drug and alcohol abuse.
We Can – and Must – Do Better
Addiction is a medical illness that requires medical care. We can, and must, do better in this area. But we would have an even greater impact if we also learned from the success of people in long-term recovery and considered the research supporting the efficacy of the 12-Step model. It is not an either/or proposition, for as any recovering addict knows, we need all the tools we can muster to beat this disease.
David Sack, M.D., is board certified in addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine. Dr. Sack served as a senior clinical scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where his research interests included affective disorders, seasonal and circadian rhythms, and neuroendocrinology. He currently serves as CEO of Elements Behavioral Health, a network of treatment programs that includes Promises, The Recovery Place, The Sexual Recovery Institute, and The Ranch.
________________________________________
Summer Is Peak Time for Teens to Try Drugs, Alcohol: Report
Experts advise parents to be alert, help kids structure their days
More teenagers start drinking and smoking cigarettes and marijuana in June and July than in any other months, U.S. health officials say. During each of those summer days, more than 11,000 teens on average use alcohol for the first time, 5,000 start smoking cigarettes and 4,500 try marijuana, according to the report, which was released Tuesday by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
"These months include periods when adolescents are on a break from school and have more idle time; they have fewer structured responsibilities and less adult supervision," said Dr. H. Westley Clark, director of the administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
The findings are based on data from the administration's annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health for the years 2002 to 2012, which include interviews with more than 230,000 teens. December is the only other month in which substance-start rates approach June and July levels, according to the report. During the rest of the year, daily first-time alcohol use runs from 5,000 to 8,000 occurrences a day. Approximately 3,000 to 4,000 teens start smoking cigarettes, and about the same number try marijuana, according to the report. More teenagers start using hallucinogens and inhalants in the summer, the researchers found. There was, however, no such increase in those starting to use cocaine or abuse prescription drugs.
Parents need to know that summertime is when their teens are more likely to start smoking, drinking and using drugs, Clark said.
"Even though summer months are about free time, it is also about greater risk," he said. And parents need to talk to their children about these risks.
Among other programs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a Smart Summer campaign that encourages parents to help prevent children from using these substances by setting boundaries, monitoring activities and being involved in their kids' lives, Clark said.
Bruce Goldman, director of substance abuse services at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., said parents need to work with their kids to plan their time -- to have some structured activity every day. "You should have an open dialogue with your children in terms of what they're doing and about alcohol and drugs," he said. "The longer you can delay adolescents from experimenting with alcohol and drugs, the better their chances of not developing problems later in life," Goldman said. "It's critical that parents be alert."
Source: HealthDay News
________________________________________
Methadone Linked to Three Out of Ten Prescription Painkiller Overdose Deaths
More than 15,500 people die every year of prescription drug overdoses, and nearly one-third of those overdoses involve the drug methadone, according to a Vital Signs report released recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers found that methadone accounts for only 2 percent of painkiller prescriptions in the United States, yet it is involved in more than 30 percent of prescription painkiller overdose deaths. Methadone has been used for decades to treat drug addiction, but in recent years it has been increasingly prescribed to relieve pain. As methadone prescriptions for pain have increased—more than 4 million prescriptions are written for the drug every year—so have methadone-related fatal overdoses. CDC results showed that six times as many people died of methadone overdoses in 2009 as died in 1999.
Learn more about this problem, spread the word to others, and take action: Visit the Vital Signs web page to find the Vital Signs MMWR article, fact sheet, podcast, and CDC.gov feature article.
________________________________________
And just to close out the week properly…..
Say what? Michigan deploys chatty urinal cakes in bars as part of anti-drunken driving effort
Michigan hopes to keep drunks off the road with the help from a special message in men's bathrooms featuring an attention-getting woman's voice. Talking urinal-deodorizer cakes have been distributed to Michigan Licensed Beverage Association members in Wayne County, including Detroit, state officials announced. A recorded message will play reminding men who step up to the urinals to call a cab or a friend, if needed, to get home safely.
"Not only do we want to turn some heads and get people talking, we hope everyone takes the message to heart," Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, said in a statement.
Bay, Ottawa and Delta counties also are getting them. The motion-activated messages are part of a statewide Fourth of July education and enforcement effort. The federally funded drunken driving crackdown runs through Sunday. It also includes stepped up patrols in 26 counties involving a number of agencies.
"At first it may be seen as humorous, but the seriousness of the message will stand out and encourage patrons to find a safe ride home," said Michigan Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Scott T. Ellis.
Talking urinal cakes have been used in other states for similar efforts.
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