SAj Blog Archives - Page 44 of 88

The Authors’ Own Words: Buprenorphine Shared Medical Appointments for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence in a Homeless Clinic

Feb 8, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Buprenorphine Shared Medical Appointments for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence in a Homeless Clinic

Sara L. Doorley, MD; Cheryl J. Ho, MD; Elizabeth Echeverria, LCSW; Charles Preston, PhD; Huy Ngo, MD; Ahmad Kamal, MD, MSc; & Chinazo O. Cunningham, MD, MS

Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 1, 2017

“This manuscript describes a novel strategy to provide integrated, whole person care to homeless persons with opioid use disorders. The findings of this manuscript are noteworthy for the high treatment retention rates found at 12 and 24 weeks. These findings are even more noteworthy when considering the social and medical vulnerability of the individuals included in this preliminary evaluation. Furthermore, this manuscript contributes to the literature by exploring two areas of relative research paucity- buprenorphine treatment of homeless persons and office-based buprenorphine treatment using shared medical appointments. The findings of this manuscript can help guide the development of unique treatment models to serve real-world, complex patients with opioid dependence and highlights how innovation and the provision of more than usual resources can achieve health equity for vulnerable patient populations disproportionately burdened by disease.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Overlapping buprenorphine, opioid, and benzodiazepine prescriptions among Veterans dually enrolled in VA and Medicare Part D

Feb 8, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Overlapping buprenorphine, opioid, and benzodiazepine prescriptions among Veterans dually enrolled in VA and Medicare Part D

Walid F. Gellad, MD, MPH; Xinhua Zhao, PhD; Carolyn T. Thorpe, PhD, MPH; Joshua M. Thorpe, PhD, MPH; Florentina E. Sileanu, MS; John P. Cashy, PhD; Maria Mor, PhD; Jennifer A. Hale, BA; Thomas Radomski, MD, MS; Leslie R. M. Hausmann, PhD; Michael J. Fine, MD, MSc; & Chester B. Good, MD, MPH

Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 1, 2017

“Our analysis is the first large scale examination of overlapping buprenorphine and opioid/benzodiazepines prescriptions across VA and Medicare. This work represents a very substantial effort to merge VA and Medicare data in a standardized fashion to understand overlapping prescriptions. As buprenorphine use increases both within and outside VA, this issue of overlapping prescriptions in non-communicating health systems will need to be addressed. As we state in the manuscript, the prescription drug monitoring programs may be a part of the solution, but will not mitigate risk entirely.”

The Authors’ Own Words: Intravenous Use of Intranasal Naloxone: A Case of Overdose Reversal

Feb 7, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

Intravenous Use of Intranasal Naloxone: A Case of Overdose Reversal

Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH; Nina Shah, PharmD; & Murtuza Ghadiali, MD

Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 1, 2017

“With the rise of opioid overdose deaths, lay-person administration of naloxone, an opiate antagonist to reverse overdose, is expanding as a mode of harm reduction. This case highlights the efficacy of naloxone, the need to counsel patients about overdose risks when entering treatment and the importance of education in naloxone distribution. We hope that the novelty of this case (alternate but luckily efficacious mode of administration) will attract attention to this lifesaving drug so providers as well advocates/policy makers are more informed of naloxone distribution.”

The Authors’ Own Words: There’s Something About Molly: The Under-Researched yet Popular Powder Form of Ecstasy in the United States

Feb 7, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

There’s Something About Molly: The Under-Researched yet Popular Powder Form of Ecstasy in the United States

Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH

Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 1, 2017

“There is very little research about Molly use in the US. Potential users need to be educated about potential risks associated with use and more research is needed to study the epidemiology of use.”

The Authors’ Own Words: “Alcoholic” or “Person with Alcohol Use Disorder”? Applying person-first diagnostic terminology in the clinical domain

Feb 6, 2020 by AMERSA

The Authors’ Own Words:

We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

“Alcoholic” or “Person with Alcohol Use Disorder”? Applying person-first diagnostic terminology in the clinical domain

Sean M. Robinson , PhD

Substance Abuse Vol. 38, Iss. 1, 2017

Implications of manuscript:
• Makes a compelling argument for the examination of costs associated with the use of stigmatizing language for individuals with SUDs in applied settings.
• Focuses the argument in favor of applying person-first diagnostic labels to individuals with substance use disorders to improved alignment with patient-centered care models and values, which may be particularly relevant to the mission statements of large, multistate providers.
• Makes the case that the proper use of such terminology is more in line with ethical principles supporting mental health care, in particular the “do no harm” and “accurately document diagnoses” provisions.
• Poses questions about the relationship between institutionalized use of terms like “alcoholic” and “addict” and their relationship to the construct of “institutionalized” (i.e., structural) stigma.
• Provides suggestions by which we can reframe potential objections to making the shift to person-first diagnostic labelling within the clinical charting for individuals with SUDs, as well as a number of interesting behavioral and/or technological recommendations.
• Link the recommended changes in language use within clinical settings to broader trends that are both future oriented (i.e., advancing patient centered care principles) and cognizant of our past (e.g., established research on treatment utilization gap for individuals with SUDs).