Articles Tagged With: addiction
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Feds Greenlight Expanded Naloxone Availability
The FDA has approved the nasal spray version of the opioid overdose reversal agent for over-the-counter sales.
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Experts Detail Remaining Barriers to Facilitating Evidence-Based Treatment for OUD
A lack of universal education in medical school and residency programs might perpetuate a reluctance to engage, diagnose, treat, and appropriately refer patients with opioid use disorder. Silos that keep substance use treatment outside mainstream healthcare can limit the collaboration and streamlined referral processes needed between EDs and outpatient providers.
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EMS-Driven Protocol Delivers a Low-Barrier Pathway to OUD Treatment
What if pre-hospital providers were empowered to both initiate overdose patients onto medication-assisted treatment in the field and also schedule follow-up appointments for ongoing care?
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Patients with Chronic Pain and Opioid Misuse: What Treatment Works?
Among primary care patients diagnosed with comorbid chronic pain and opioid misuse, researchers found a specially designed, mindfulness-based group therapy showed superiority to generic supportive group therapy in reducing opioid use and controlling symptoms of chronic pain.
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Case Managers Can Better Educate Patients and Families About Opioid Addiction
While the world focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, another crisis — the opioid epidemic — continued to unfold, taking hundreds of thousands of lives. Hospital discharge is an opportunity for case managers and other providers to help prevent patients from becoming victims of opioid overdoses.
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Spironolactone May Help Treat Chronic Alcoholism
Both animal and human studies suggest spironolactone might be a new agent for helping patients with alcohol use disorder cut their intake.
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Is Illicit Substance Use Associated with Atrial Fibrillation?
An observational study of a huge cohort of patients admitted to California hospitals showed patients who used cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, and cannabis were at a higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation vs. those with similar risk factors who did not use the substances.
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Neurologists Look Beyond Traditional Addiction Treatment Techniques
Researchers explore why some patients were suddenly no longer craving nicotine after the appearance of a brain lesion.
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Drug Diversion Creates Significant Liability Risk
Drug diversion is a perennial problem for healthcare organizations. Risk managers should know there is substantial liability risk from the possible effects on patient safety. This problem is not improving, industry sources say — and some things are getting worse. -
Recognizing and Treating Substance Use Disorders
Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reveal 20.3 million people living in the United States have an addiction or substance use disorder (SUD). Geographic and financial barriers, as well as bias and stigma, work together to present formidable roadblocks for patients with SUD looking for direction. The primary care provider (PCP) may be the only healthcare contact for many of these patients. With expertise in understanding management of other complex, chronic disorders and experience in implementing an integrated, individualized treatment plan, the PCP has the background to take the lead in managing patients with SUD.