The AMERSA Special Interest Group in Geriatric Adults is a new group formed by allied health professionals who share an interest in substance use disorders specifically as they impact older adults, a demographic which is growing rapidly due to the aging of the US population. Our overall goal is to work within the interdisciplinary AMERSA conference membership to promote education, clinical care, and evidence-based research that improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of substance use disorders among older adults. As we are a new group making our debut in 2019, we welcome all who are interested to join us as we develop and implement our agenda. We anticipate our agenda will include discussion of factors disproportionately affecting older adults (e.g., social isolation, dementia, chronic pain, polypharmacy, age-related changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, multiple transitions of care, and receipt of nursing home care) and how these factors impact prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery services for older adults.
Co-chairs: Justina Groeger, MD, MPH – Montefiore Medical Center and Benjamin Hyun Han, MD, MPH – New York University School of Medicine