Educations

CO*RE Awarded Year-Long Grant to Continue ER/LA Opioid REMS Education

ASAM is a partner of the Collaboration for REMS Education (CO*RE). CO*RE has been awarded its second full year-long grant (after the first and an interim grant) by the REMS Programming Companies (RPC). CO*RE, a collaboration of primarily national associations, will use this funding of $3,655,634 in 2015 to reach beyond the 53,000 clinicians it has successfully educated since 2013.

Educations

Vote Now! Time is Running Out!

With less than two weeks left in the election, ASAM members should cast their votes now for their choice of President-Elect, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and six Directors-at-Large.

Educations

ASAM Developing Opioid Use Disorder National Practice Guideline

The forthcoming "National Practice Guideline for Medications for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder" re-focuses ASAM's efforts on quality improvement activities, such as standards and performance measures for the addiction physician specialist.

Educations

Cocaine Vaccine: Research Review

There are still no FDA-approved medications for cocaine use despite many clinical trials that have tested potential treatments. Recent research has instead focused on developing an anti-cocaine vaccine.

Educations

Richard Saitz Named the Senior Editor, Journal of Addiction Medicine

Leading addiction clinician and researcher Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FASAM has been named the Senior Editor of ASAM’s Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Educations

Balancing Benefits and Risks: Opioid Analgesics

The misuse and abuse of extended release and long-acting (ER/LA) opioid medications are urgent public health problems that clinicians who prescribe these drugs can help address by learning safer prescribing, medication management, and patient and family counseling practices.

Educations

Dedicated Addiction Leader Dr. H. Westley Clark Retires From SAMHSA

After working as Director of the Substance and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment for the last 16 years, ASAM member H. Westley Clark MD, JD, MPH, CAS, FASAM, retired on October 3rd.

Educations

ASAM Updates Report on Medicaid Coverage of Addiction Treatments

ASAM contracted the Treatment Research Institute (TRI) to update a June 2013 ASAM Patient Advocacy Task Force (PATF) survey and research report on insurance coverage of opioid addiction medications. The report assesses how Medicaid coverage of opioid addiction pharmacotherapies, both medication and counseling, across the United States, has changed over the last year.

Educations

ASAM Provides Message Manager Training

An online course teaches ASAM members how to effectively communicate their medical expertise and ASAM’s views of addiction treatment to reporters and other media representatives.

Educations

ASAM Criteria Software Plenary Outlines Impending Product Launch

A plenary at the Addiction Health Services Research Conference covers more than 20 research papers on <em>The ASAM Criteria Software</em>.

Educations

Continuing the Pipeline of Addiction Education

Through the Ruth Fox scholarship program, ASAM trains medical students with the necessary knowledge to identify and treat patients with addiction.

Educations

Intimate Partner Violence and Co-Occurring Substance Abuse/Addiction

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern. Recent national media attention has increased discussion regarding this significant health care issue. Substance abuse has been found to co-occur in 40-60% of IPV incidents across various studies. Several lines of evidence suggest that substance use/abuse plays a facilitative role in IPV by precipitating or exacerbating violence. Some studies also suggest the benefit of interventions that focus on substance abuse/addiction in men who have histories of IPV.

Educations

ASAM Members Lou Baxter and Michael Shore Join New Jersey Governor Chris Christie at Addiction Summit

“The Many Faces of Addiction: Ending The Stigma” summit featured a series of panel discussions focused on bringing many voices together in an effort to change the way we talk and think about addiction.

Educations

Max A. Schneider, MD, FASAM, Former ASAM President has Passed Away

Max A. Schneider, MD, FASAM former President of ASAM passed away Sunday, September 28. He was 92 years old. Dr. Schneider was known to many in the medical community as one of the founding fathers of training and education in the field of addiction medicine. He dedicated his life to advocating for improvements in addiction education and authored numerous publications and films on the subject of alcoholism. He had a long career as a practitioner and as an instructor. His accomplishments were recognized with awards from the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the California Medical Association.

Educations

DEA Reschedules Hydrocodone Combination Products

On August 22nd, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) formally rescheduled hydrocodone combination products (HCPs), moving them from Schedule III to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act.

Educations

ASAM Revises Use of Naloxone Public Policy Statement

ASAM’s statement was revised in response to increased public awareness concerning the use of naloxone and outlines how the immediate availability and use of naloxone can prevent needless overdose deaths.

Educations

CVS Demonstrates Dedication to Consumer Health

In February, ASAM congratulated CVS on its decision to “quit” sales of cigarettes by October 1, 2014. Now, CVS has pulled cigarettes from its shelves nearly a month early, earning the respect of medical professionals throughout the U.S.

Educations

Use of Naloxone for the Prevention of Opioid Overdose Deaths

Educations

State Medicaid Coverage of Addiction Treatment in the US

To help further knowledge of current care coverage, ASAM has produced a series of two-page state fact sheets that summarize Medicaid coverage of both medication and counseling addiction treatment.

Educations

Selective Inhibition Shows Promise as Marijuana Treatment

A promising treatment option for addiction to marijuana may emerge through selective inhibition of a specific signaling pathway in the brain.