We’re delighted to announce that SAj’s Volume 37, Issue 3 is now available online! You’ll notice a new Taylor and Francis website as well!
CARA Bill Expands Buprenorphine Prescribing to Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
By Associate Editor Deborah Finnell:
Word traveled fast through the nursing community about the Senate’s final approval (07/13/2016) of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). This historic moment was especially sweet for those of us who have been long-time advocates of expanded access for persons needing treatment for opioid dependence. Furthermore, thanks to the ongoing support from and persistence of Senators Markey and Paul, this legislation will allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants prescribe buprenorphine. Currently, only physicians were able to prescribe this treatment.
In 2015, my colleagues and I published an editorial for the Substance Abuse journal with an appeal for “all advanced practice nurses … to be allowed to join physicians in prescribing buprenorphine” (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08897077.2015.1101733). We were discouraged in knowing that there seemed to be limited interest in opening the 15-year old Drug Addiction Treatment Act that restricted buprenorphine prescribing to physicians. Yet, we hoped that our voices would be heard.
Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio), chief author of CARA said, “This is also the first time that we’ve treated addiction like the disease that it is, which will help put an end to the stigma that has surrounded addiction for too long.” Like other health disorders, opioid and other substance use disorders can be effectively treated and recovery is possible. I urge lay persons and health care providers alike, to become educated about these brain-based substance use disorders. Further, my colleagues and I urge you to read our publication in Substance Abuse and “carefully and intentionally consider the language used to describe alcohol and other drug use and disorders, the individuals affected by these conditions, and their related behaviors, comorbidities, treatment, and recovery” (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08897077.2014.930372).
AMERSA Conference – Call for Papers + Call for Workshops
Substance Abuse journal is the official journal of AMERSA (Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse) and their annual conference is a highlight for our particular tribe of addiction medicine folks.
As a tribe within that tribe, those of you who are research/science/education – minded should pay particular attention to their Call for Workshops and Call for Abstracts, which are due tomorrow, May 20.
Special Issue 2017 – Call For Papers
We are pleased to partner with the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) and Providers’ Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies (PCSS-O) for the third year in a row to offer a special double issue of Substance Abuse journal.
The first, “Expanding Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: The Role of Pharmacotherapies,” was available in our April-June 2015 issue. The second is our current issue, January-March 2016, titled “From Education to Implementation: Addressing the Opioid Misuse Epidemic, ” whose editorial is making quite a splash lately. Both publications have been successful and timely reports to the field about current issues.
For 2017 we now announce a call for papers on the topic of “From Education to Practice: Addressing Opioid Misuse through Healthcare Provider Training.” We invite you to view our Call for Papers for further details:
As always, we welcome any questions – please email the Editor-in-Chief at substanceabuseeditor@gmail.com.
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2014 AMERSA Abstracts
The 2014 AMERSA Annual Conference abstracts are now published! The title of the conference was “Building Connections and Bridging Interdisciplinary Leadership in Addictions: 2014 AMERSA Annual Conference and a Thank You to Reviewers”, and the abstracts reflect the breadth of leading scholarship that AMERSA members disseminate. This conference was particularly unique as it was located in San Fransisco California, a remote location than Washington, DC locations of prior AMERSA’s annual conferences.
From the article: “One of AMERSA’s goals is to “promote cultural competence and inclusiveness among healthcare professionals in their work with individuals affected by substance-related problems.” In 2014, the Editorial Team at Substance Abuse advocated for the use of nonpejorative language that respects the personhood of those who use substances, both in writing and in clinical practice. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] Additionally, inclusiveness is critically important for vulnerable individuals who use substances, and the research career of AMERSA’s 2014 Betty Ford Awardee, Tonda L. Hughes, PhD, RN, FAAN, serves as an excellent example of this area of focus. Dr. Hughes’ plenary discussed her research on stigmatized and marginalized groups, her advocacy for rigorous studies to inform health care policy for these populations, and the various challenges inherent in pursuing controversial topics. Her remarks have been preserved as a commentary in this issue of Substance Abuse.[Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed]”
The issue also provided a means to thank our peer reviewers over the last year. In the editorial we recognized the 299 peer reviewers who provided a total of 438 reviews between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. In addition, we acknowledge the 2014 best peer reviewer (Dr. Jennifer McNeely) and the best we recognized our “Most Downloaded Manuscript” (Broyles LM, Binswanger IA, Jenkins JA, et al. Confronting inadvertent stigma and pejorative language in addiction scholarship: a recognition and response. Subst Abus. 2014;35:217–221.[Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®]) and our “2014 Best Manuscript.” (Woolsey CL, Barnes LB, Jacobson BH, et al. Frequency of energy drink use predicts illicit prescription stimulant use. Subst Abus. 2014;35:96–103. [Taylor & Francis Online], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®].
We look forward to advancing the mission of AMERSA and to dissiminate many of the works of AMERSA members in our journal’s pages.