A common day in the hospital emergency room. The doctors and nurses have been busy all day with people who have been in accidents, have the flu or other types of illnesses. Suddenly a sight too common, a patient comes in unresponsive and covered in vomit due to a drug overdose; the medical personnel sprint into action.
If you were in the hospital when a victim of an overdose enters into the E.R., you will find clinicians and nurses jumping to save a life. The clinician will start by pumping oxygen in the patient’s lungs and a nurse will put in an IV. Someone will probably give the patient a dose of naloxone, which may or may not save a person’s life. Doctors and nurses do all they can with the resources they have at their disposal.
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Hospital emergency rooms and rehabs all around the country deal with drug overdose every single day. Here in the United States, approximately 16 percent of the population over the age of 12, meet the criteria of a substance use disorder (https://www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/legislative-activities/testimony-to-congress/2017/federal-response-to-opioid-crisis). There are 10,000 people around the world who die from an overdose every day. Society pays more money on substance use disorders than on HIV/AIDS or cancer.
Use of Policies
Physicians who specialize in treating addiction use policies outlined by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (https://www.asam.org/) to serve their patients. These policies put emphasis on teaching about addiction medicine, regulate the usage of the addiction medicine, and enlarge the access to evidence-based care. Addiction medicine is used for the treatment of drug addiction.
The policies were created to help doctors, nurses, and addiction treatment centers that treat substance abuse. The policies are effective, but there is a need to facilitate the delivery of comprehensive and coordinated treatment into the already established healthcare system. Thankfully, Congress is starting to step up their aid to hospitals, doctors, nurses, and rehab centers in their fight against substance abuse.
Acts of Importance
The Congress passed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This act ensures patients who are dealing with a substance use disorder to get evidence-based treatment. However, additional measures need to be taken; Congress needs to support funding to grow the addiction medicine research workforce, through SAMHSA and NIDA. Congress could help with increased financing for several areas of medical training including the following:
- Increase the number of training fellowships in the United States medical schools
- Support programs which provide sub-specialty training in addiction medicine for doctors in primary fields (including family medicine), internal medicine, pediatrics, ob-gyn, physical, pediatrics, and rehabilitation
- Increase in training on addiction psychiatry; training would be for doctors who have already completed their regular training of child and adult psychiatry
Training is essential in addiction psychiatry since there is a high demand (https://www.amnhealthcare.com/high-demand-for-psychiatrists/) for psychiatrists. Therefore, it is important that Congress requires accredited training about addiction medicine to board-certified physicians, non-psychiatrists, and even employees of Managed Behavioral Health Care Organizations. The training can help medical personnel provide the correct treatment and medicine needed for people who suffer from substance abuse and addictive disorders. In addition, Managed Behavioral Health Care Organizations should be required to process and handle claims submitted by addiction medicine doctors. These are doctors who usually use evaluation and management codes instead of mental health codes.
There is a rapidly growing amount of research around these areas supported and distributed by NIDA and SAMHSA. A lot of the data shows that addiction is a chronic, relapsed brain disease. The research also shows that addiction can be managed, treated, and controlled. Many of the people with a substance use disorder will continually have to be treated, perhaps day after day, month after month, and even year after year. Therefore, the addiction medicine field will need continual adequate funding by Congress. It is necessary for the successful treatment of those with substance abuse and addictions.
Bills of Importance
Lastly, there are several bills in place being proposed by the United States Senate to help lower prescription drug (https://www.hhs.gov/blog/2018/09/17/bringing-hope-and-healing-in-the-midst-of-the-opioid-crisis.html) costs. One bill, in particular, would allow the HHS secretary the ability to negotiate lower costs of prescription drugs. Another bill currently (https://www.hhs.gov/blog/2018/09/17/bringing-hope-and-healing-in-the-midst-of-the-opioid-crisis.html) proposed to the Senate would make it easier for generic drugs to compete with brand name drug companies. It would do so by helping generic drugs get to the market faster; therefore, lowering the cost of the brand name.
It should be clear, Congress has an important role when it comes to helping doctors, nurses, and rehab centers take care of their substance abuse disorder and addiction patients. When the participants of the medical field work closely with Congress, patients of addiction will be better taken care of. They will be able to manage their addiction and lead a drug-free life, which is the ultimate goal. Let’s help as many people as we can and reach this goal every day.
Sunshine Behavioral Health (https://twitter.com/sunshinebehavi1) believe in updated addiction news.