Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from August 2010

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from August 2010

DEA shuts down methadone clinic after owner arrested on drug charges.(Drug Enforcement Administration )
August 30, 2010... The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) abruptly shut down Turning Tide, a methadone clinic serving 280 patients in Rockland, Maine, earlier this month. The reason for the closure was a "threat to public health and safety" said Guy...

Centers edge into web marketing, question ethics of some approaches.
August 30, 2010... Treatment leaders increasingly see the Internet as easing vulnerable individuals' and families' search for treatment services that match their needs, but they also observe the Internet marketing behaviors of some organizations with a wary eye....

SAMHSA provides 'immersion' training on military culture.(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
August 30, 2010... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is working with states to help providers be more sensitive to the treatment needs of returning veterans. At the end of the month, SAMHSA, along with the Tennessee...

West Virginia opens up prevention funding to regional bidders.
August 30, 2010... The West Virginia Prevention Resource Center (WVPRC), which has for 10 years coordinated statewide substance abuse prevention efforts, is facing the loss of half its $3 million annual budget this fall, when the state's Department of Health and...

Illinois providers may face more cuts, payment delays.(State Budget Watch)
August 30, 2010... Treatment providers in Illinois are struggling with at least two payment problems: they don't know what their final budgets for the current fiscal year will be, and they haven't been paid since July 1 due to cash flow problems, explained Sara...

Rand Paul's drug comments touch off criticism.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 30, 2010... Rand Paul, a Republican candidate from Kentucky for the U.S. Senate, has been fighting off criticism after his statement that drug abuse isn't "a pressing issue." Paul, who favors cutting federal aid for treatment, says that money should stay in...

Young people who drink with meals less likely to be problem drinkers.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Report)(Brief article)
August 30, 2010... Moderate drinking with meals seems to protect young people from developing harmful drinking patterns as adults, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and published in the current issue...

New Hampshire take-back program leads to national bill.(IN THE STATES)(Brief article)
August 30, 2010... The Seabrook, N.H. police department's drug take-back program, in which people can bring in unused prescription drugs, has led the state's congresswoman to call for national legislation mirroring the program, the first in the country. Rep. Carol...

Privatizing Virginia ABC stores may not be a good idea.(IN THE STATES)(Alcoholic Beverage Control )(Brief article)
August 30, 2010... The Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) stores, created in the 1930s after prohibition to help states keep drinking down, are up for privatization in Virginia, where Gov. Robert F. McDonnell wants to sell off the state stores to raise money for the...

SAMHSA report pinpoints local problems.(RESOURCES)(Survey)(Brief article)
August 30, 2010... A report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals wide variations in 344 different locations across the United States. Based on a survey commissioned by SAMHSA, the report can help localities decide...

NIDA to hold drug facts week for teens in November.(RESOURCES)
August 30, 2010... The National Institute on Drug Abuse will launch its first "National Drug Facts Week" aimed at teenagers. To be held the week of November 8, the event will encourage community-based question and answer sessions, which can be sponsored by...

Robert Z. Friedman, M.D.(appintment of)(Brief article)
August 30, 2010... Robert Z. Friedman, M.D., ABAM has been appointed medical director of Seabrook House. Prior to joining the Seabrook, N.J.-based facility, Friedman was medical director of the Division of Addiction Medicine at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
August 30, 2010... The Vendome Group, together with NAADAC (the Association for Addiction Professionals), the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), will hold the First Annual National...

In case you haven't heard ...
August 30, 2010... Craig Smallwood says he didn't know what he was getting into when he started playing computer game Lineage II--and if he had been told it was so addictive, he would never have started. He is now suing the game's developer and publisher, NCsoft...

New York uses new billing system to improve outpatient treatment.
August 23, 2010... New York's outpatient treatment system is in the midst of a transformation that will change the way providers get paid, giving methadone clinics incentives to provide more counseling and non-methadone providers incentives to prescribe more...

More collaboration with SSAs sought in drug court program development.
August 23, 2010... When the Senate Appropriations Committee last month inserted into report language on fiscal 2011 drug court funding an expectation that drug court grantees work closely with state substance abuse agencies, it sounded a drumbeat for collaboration...

HIT privacy expert on why regs are not enough.(42 CFR Part 2 Update)
August 23, 2010... The federal regulation that forbids substance abuse treatment programs from releasing any information about a patient--including identification--without that patient's consent is not adequate for protecting confidentiality, a health care...

Study shows HIV meds don't increase drug users' risky behavior.(human immunodeficiency virus)(Brief article)
August 23, 2010... Intravenous drug abusers with HIV do not increase risky behavior--multiple sex partners or not using condoms--when they get medications for HIV, a recent study has found. Short-term studies have indicated that once people start treatment, risky...

ACLU lawsuit threat halts housing drug-test idea.(American Civil Liberties Union)
August 23, 2010... When Rod Slaughter, CEO of the Flint Housing Commission, said he was considering drug testing all tenants in the Michigan public housing units as a condition of having a lease this spring, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took notice....

Anna Nicole Smith's doctor kept records of Valium, methadone.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 23, 2010... Last week, prosecutors in the trial of Anna Nicole Smith's physician, Snadeep Kapoor, M.D., provided evidence of journal entries in which he wrote about his giving her Valium and methadone, asking "Can she ruin me?" and also wrote about his own...

'Intervention' show on cable gets advice from ONDCP.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 23, 2010... The writers and producers of "Intervention," the cable TV series, met with addiction experts to make sure they get their facts straight. Earlier this month, A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug...

Massachusetts approves new tool to stop doctor shopping.(IN THE STATES)(Brief article)
August 23, 2010... Last week the Massachusetts Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality approved a new tracking system that will help physicians determine whether patients are "doctor-shopping" for narcotics or are truly in need of painkillers, according to the...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
August 23, 2010... The Vendome Group, together with NAADAC (the Association for Addiction Professionals), the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), will hold the First Annual National...

In case you haven't heard ...
August 23, 2010... A new map on Google can help you find what doctors have disciplinary, criminal or malpractice histories--including their problems with alcohol or drugs, according to a report in the current issue of Forbes.William Heisel, contributing editor to...

Column critical of 12-Step treatment refocuses attention on success rates.(Column)
August 16, 2010... Leaders of some of the most prominent addiction treatment centers nationally are urging their colleagues to be proactive in the face of an assault on 12-Step treatment published in the Aug. 8 Washington Post. Interviews with several leaders last...

Feds struggle with prevention message aimed at rx drug overdoses.
August 16, 2010... As prescription painkiller overdoses continue to rise, federal officials are still working on the right message to prevent injuries and deaths, with the main barrier continuing to be the fact that these drugs have legal, beneficial purposes. ...

States to receive scaled-down FMAP rates for first half of 2011.(Federal Medical Assistance Percentage)
August 16, 2010... Last week Congress passed, and the President signed, a six-month extension of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). This will give the states some breathing room for their current budgets. Current FMAP rates--6.2 percent higher...

NIDA study identifies brain region that controls craving.(National Academy of Sciences)(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... A study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the part of the brain that regulates cognition and emotion is linked to the ability of people to resist craving. Using functional MRI data, the...

HITECH behavioral health bill introduced in Senate.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act)
August 16, 2010... Earlier this month, a bill proposing to extend Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) financial incentives for use by professionals in substance abuse and mental health treatment was introduced. This...

Most underage alcohol ER visits are males: SAMHSA.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(emergency department visits)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)(Report)(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... A report released earlier this month by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that the majority of alcohol-related emergency department visits involving people age 12 to 20 are males--53.4 percent among...

San Francisco considers alcohol 'tax' to offset health costs.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering imposing a fee of 5.7 cents per ounce of alcohol per ounce. The fee would be paid by wholesalers on all alcoholic beverages shipped into the city, and would go toward treatment for health...

Researchers find new target in brain for cocaine addiction.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a chemical system in the brain that reacts differently in cocaine addicts. "We found that the amount of blood flow in areas of the brain known to be involved in the rewarding effects of...

NAATP's new leader reflects on parity and confidentiality.(National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers)(Interview)
August 16, 2010... Last week ADAW interviewed Dennis Gilhousen, the new president and CEO of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) about two of the most significant issues affecting the treatment field this year: parity and...

CRC hires National Resource Center director.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(appointment of Dale Demarest Bryan)(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... CRC Health Group has hired a 20-year call center veteran to oversee customer relations at the Cupertino, Calif.-based treatment provider. Dale Demarest Bryan will be director of the CRC National Resource Center (NRC), the company's call center,...

NIDA names new head of Intramural Research Program.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(National Institute on Drug Abuse)(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... Antonello Bonci, M.D., a neruopsychopharmacology expert, has been appointed the scientific director of the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Currently professor in residence in the Department of...

Tracking down causes of prescription drug overdoses.(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... The below graphs from the Drug Enforcement Administration give a clear picture of the increase in drug overdoses, the relationship to prescription painkillers, and the sources of nonmedical use of these medications. Source of pain relievers...

Titan reports 60 percent enrollment in Phase III study of Probuphine.(BUSINESS)(Brief article)
August 16, 2010... Probuphine, Titan's new study drug for the treatment of opioid addiction, has 60 percent of Phase 3 enrollment completed, the San Franciscobased pharmaceutical company announced earlier this month. The placebo and active controlled study is...

SAMHSA accepting applications for Prevention Fellowship Program.(CALL FOR APPLICATIONS)(The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
August 16, 2010... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for its Prevention Fellowship Program, designed to build a workforce of prevention professionals. Each Fellow will be assigned to a state,...

NIATx issues billing guide.(RESOURCES)
August 16, 2010... Last week NIATx released a billing guide, which helps give substance abuse treatment providers the basics of how to bill for their services. To access the guide, go to www.niatx.net/PDF/Action/NIATx_Third-party_Billing_Guide.pdf.

Interactive map on substance abuse treatment admissions.(RESOURCES)
August 16, 2010... For a map on treatment admissions across the country, with clickable areas, go to http://oas.samhsa.gov/metro/metro.cfm. From the Office of Applied Studies at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the map gives links to...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
August 16, 2010... The Vendome Group, together with NAADAC (the Association for Addiction Professionals), the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), will hold the First Annual National...

In case you haven't heard ...
August 16, 2010... The Obama Administration has come under attack by conservatives for various grants used to study substance abuse--grants funded by the stimulus act. For example, Sen. John McCain issued a report criticizing what it called stimulus waste, with...

Methadone mortality summit shifts focus from OTPs to pain prescribing.(opioid treatment programs)
August 9, 2010... What a difference three years make. Federal officials are no longer giving credence to claims that opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are responsible for the increase in methadone overdose deaths due to diverted take-home doses. At the methadone...

Lack of cash could persuade California counties to tax marijuana.(State Budget Watch)
August 9, 2010... The California county governments that will have the discretion to tax and regulate marijuana if state voters approve a legalization initiative this November are giving little formal indication as to how they might proceed after the election....

SAMHSA says it won't change confidentiality regulations.(42 CFR Part 2)(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
August 9, 2010... Despite the concerns that 42 CFR Part 2, the federal regulations that forbid disclosure of information about alcohol and drug treatment without the patient's consent, won't fit into the modern scenario of an electronic health record (EHR), the...

Congress to SAMHSA: use drug court money for treatment.
August 9, 2010... Congress has approved level-funding or funding increases for key field areas. On July 29, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its draft appropriations for fiscal year 2011; the House Labor/HHS/Education Committee approved its draft...

Study: one in three doctors would not report impaired colleague.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 9, 2010... Although professional ethics codes require physicians to report an incompetent or impaired colleague, one third would not do so, according to a survey of 2,000 physicians published in the July 14 Journal of the American Medical Association...

DOJ files fair housing lawsuit on behalf of sober home.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 9, 2010... The federal Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against a town in Michigan alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Dalton Township discriminated against people with disabilities based on...

Caron appoints business manager to handle expansion.(BUSINESS)(Brief article)
August 9, 2010... Caron Treatment Centers last week announced the appointment of Christian O'Donnell to its newly created position of National Business Manager beginning this week. O'Donnell will support Caron's overall business development initiatives across the...

Robert M. Kaplan, Ph.D.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)(Brief article)
August 9, 2010... The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the appointment of Robert M. Kaplan, Ph.D., as Director, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) and NIH Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research....

Coming up ...(Calendar)
August 9, 2010... The Vendome Group, together with NAADAC (the Association for Addiction Professionals), the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), will hold the First Annual National...

In case you haven't heard ...
August 9, 2010... Even in a bad economy, a fledgling, small substance abuse treatment program can survive and expand. A Bridge to Recovery, a Memphis, Tenn.-based outpatient substance abuse treatment program that first opened just over a year ago--not the best of...

Goodyear plan uses EAP to limit substance abuse benefits.(Parity Compliance Alert)
August 2, 2010... Using the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to get around the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) is a violation of the interim final rule (IFR) implementing the 2008 law, and setting deductibles and treatment limitations that...

Panel vote against opioid risk strategy shows concern over voluntary training.(Parity Compliance Alert)
August 2, 2010... Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials are grappling with the question of whether prescribers of long-acting narcotics should be required to undergo training in the safe use of these products, after an advisory panel last month said that a...

Arizona SSA's grim message to providers: cuts now and later.(State Budget Watch)(social security services )
August 2, 2010... Last week, Laura Nelson, M.D., director of the Division of Behavioral Health with the Arizona Department of Health Services, delivered a chilling message to providers and patients. Although her division has been spared major cuts in recent...

VA allows medical marijuana where it's legal.(State Budget Watch)(Veterans Administration)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... Last month, the Veterans Administration issued a directive saying that it will now allow Veterans to participate in medical marijuana programs in states where this is legal. Currently, 14 states allow medical marijuana for the treatment of...

Cocaine-Crack Sentencing Disparity Reduced by Legislation
August 2, 2010... Last week the House of Representatives approved a bill, already passed by the Senate, to remove the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine powder. The legislation, when signed, will remove mandatory minimum sentences of five years for...

IC&RC and NCC to 'speak with one voice'.(State Budget Watch)(National Certification Commission)(International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium )(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... They're not using the word "merger," but the National Certification Commission (NCC) and the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) met last week in Denver and concluded that they "need to speak with one voice for our...

CCHIT launches certification program for behavioral health EHRs.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Certification Commission for Health Information Technology)(electronic health records)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... Last week the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced the launch of new CCHIT certification programs for electronic health records in behavioral health. Among the health IT developers who voluntarily...

Methylphenidate for cocaine dependence: how it works.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... A recent study has gotten closer to finding out how methylphenidate (Ritalin) can help treat cocaine dependence. A pharmacological functional MRI study of the stop signal task showed that in cocaine-dependent patients, whose inhibitory control...

Man pointed gun at his head to try to get help for alcoholism.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... The Gazette Times of Albany, Oregon reported last week that one man went to the hospital with a gun pointing at his head, saying he needed help for alcoholism and chronic pain. Instead, he was taken to jail. He is facing charges of possessing a...

Repeat offender will get treatment.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... In another case in Oregon, a man actually was shot by police before he got his chance for treatment. As reported in the Statesman Journal July 23, Joshua A. Bruce was scheduled to be sentenced on charges of possession of methamphetamine, theft,...

Judge denies alleged burglar treatment for substance abuse, sets bail at $75,000.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... Meanwhile, across the country, a judge said a Connecticut man whowas allegedly burglarizing a home in East Hampton was denied treatment for substance abuse. The lawyer for Richard LaFountain said that the attempted burglary was due to substance...

Mouse study finds newly learned actions are associated with brain changes.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Report)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... Finding treatments for movement disorders like Parkinson's were the main goal of recently published mouse research into action sequences, but the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) says the study can also shed light on...

'Ecstasy' found effective as adjunct in treating PTSD.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 2, 2010... The hallucinogen methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), once used in psychotherapy, has just been studied for its use as a therapeutic adjunct in treating patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a study published July 19 in the...

Congressman Kennedy receives Recovery Legacy award.(NAMES IN THE NEWS)
August 2, 2010... Faces & Voices of Recovery and the Hazelden Center for Public Policy awarded Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) with the first-ever America Honors Recovery Legacy award at a reception in Washington last week. At the same time, the Association of...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
August 2, 2010... The Vendome Group, together with NAADAC (the Association for Addiction Professionals), the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), will hold the First Annual National...

In case you haven't heard ...
August 2, 2010... The privacy and security "tiger team," part of the federally chartered Health Information Technology Policy Committee that has been meeting since June and advises the Office of the National Coordinator at the Department of Health and Services,...