Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from August 2011

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from August 2011

Schick Shadel making a comeback in new era of medicine-based treatment.
August 29, 2011... Patients who want chemical aversion therapy--connecting nausea and vomiting to their drug of choice--have one place to go: Schick Shadel in Seattle. Schick Shadel operated programs in several states before managed care almost put it out of...

State grant restores bed capacity at Indiana community-based center.(Treatment Program Profile)
August 29, 2011... Administrators overseeing the Turning Point Center residential facility in Jeffersonville, Ind., hope that their receipt of a $1.5 million state grant this year signals a reversal of fortune after a several-year struggle to maintain existing...

ASAM admits error in omitting NIAAA in definition publicity.(American Society of Addiction Medicine)(National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
August 29, 2011... In announcing its new broader definition of addiction to include non-substance addictions such as sex and gambling (see ADAW, August 22), the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) made an almost fatal error. It treated alcohol like an...

Honoring Betty Ford's vision.(FROM THE FIELD ...)
August 29, 2011... The Betty Ford Center opened its doors to patients October 4, 1982 as the first licensed addiction treatment hospital in California. We did a "rehearsal" a few days earlier with a pajama-clad former First Lady of the United States and her Secret...

Pay per click: using search engine marketing to attract patients.
August 29, 2011... Treatment programs don't have to pay Google to make their sites easier to find--but doing so can be very helpful. "The least expensive way to get someone to your site is a natural search, because it's free," said Tom Lynch, vice president of...

OASAS set to close treatment program.(Briefly Noted)(office of alcoholism and substance abuse services)(Brief article)
August 29, 2011... The operating center for the Riverside Support Center in Deer-park, New York was suspended by the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) on July 14, because according to the state patients weren't receiving services and...

CDC finds alprazolam second biggest OD cause in Florida.(IN THE STATES)
August 29, 2011... Drug overdose deaths in Florida increased by 61 percent between 2003 and 2009, from 1,804 to 2,905, according to an analysis of medical examiner data published in the July 8 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the...

Bath salts and K2 in Maine.(IN THE STATES)(Brief article)
August 29, 2011... Substances that are completely new are causing violent behavior by users in Maine, the Associated Press reported Aug. 7. Police and hospitals say that people are snorting, smoking, or injecting a synthetic drug marketed as "bath salts" and...

Correction: no Antabuse at schick shadel.(Correction notice)
August 29, 2011... Schick Shadel does not use Antabuse, as was incorrectly reported in the Aug. 22 issue on page 8. We regret the error. (See letter, below)

Letter to the editor.(Letter to the editor)
August 29, 2011... Dear Editor, The otherwise accurate and informative page 8 August 22 ADAW article on the acquisition and planed expansion of Schick Shadel Hospital by Ascend Health unfortunately reinforced a prevalent and dangerous misperception. That error,...

Hazelden now offers IDDT materials.(Resources)
August 29, 2011... Hazelden is now offering materials from the Integrated Dual Disorders Treatment program, developed in collaboration with the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, on its website. The curriculum is based on the need to deliver substance abuse...

Coming up ...
August 29, 2011... Children and Family Futures will present "Putting the Pieces Together for Children and Families: The National Conference on Substance Abuse, Child Welfare, and the Courts" on September 14-16 in National Harbor, Maryland. For more information, go...

Phil Herschman, M.D.(NAMES IN THE MEWS)(Brief article)
August 29, 2011... Phil Herschman, M.D., chief clinical officer for CRC Health Group, is leading a new clinical advisory board at the Cupertino, Calif. Company that will help provide guidance for treatment that includes "the latest innovations and research,"...

In case you haven't heard ...(Survey)(Brief article)
August 29, 2011... Last week's announcement that teens who use Facebook are more likely to use cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol came, predictably, from a survey by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. After two days of headlines...

States hope to make money with gambling expansion, but at what cost?
August 22, 2011... This spring, New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Bennett Liebman to look at expanding gambling -- most likely casinos -- in New York State. The idea is that the state would reap profits to help fill its declining coffers. Currently, the...

Center sees role for residential, but drives to diversify TC base.(Treatment Program Profile)(Organization overview)
August 22, 2011... While the president and CEO of New York City-based Odyssey House remains convinced that residential treatment will receive a place in the basic health benefit under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), he at the same time presides over a treatment...

'Residential' is a misnomer that could hurt Parity/ACA gains: treatment programs call for federal guidance on 'residential'.
August 22, 2011... Calling treatment programs "residential" may feed into insurance and policy maker concerns that they are more "housing" than treatment, which is far from the truth, lead advocates involved in the parity and health care reform discussions say....

ASAM issues new definition of addiction.(American Society of Addiction Medicine)
August 22, 2011... Last week, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) expanded its definition of addiction to include sex, gambling, and other addictions. Saying that the basis of all addiction is a chronic brain disorder, and -- for the first time --...

How DEA monitors buprenorphine prescribing and dispensing.
August 22, 2011... Last week, we covered expansion of buprenorphine treatment and the role of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) in monitoring this treatment. This week, we look at the role of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Under...

EEOC sues employer for not hiring methadone patient.(BRIEFLY NOTED)
August 22, 2011... The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last week filed suit against an employer for not hiring a methadone patient, charging that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Craig Burns, a recovering addict who has been...

Schick Shadel acquired, expansion to come.(BUSINESS NEWS)(Brief article)
August 22, 2011... Last week Schick Shadel Hospital in Seattle was purchased by Ascend Health, a Denton, Texas based company. Schick chairman and CEO James P. Graham, a former patient, formed a group with other former patients to form Duffy I, LP, which purchased...

Coming up ...(Conference news)
August 22, 2011... Children and Family Futures will present "Putting the Pieces Together for Children and Families: The National Conference on Substance Abuse, Child Welfare, and the Courts" on September 14-16 in National Harbor, Maryland. For more information, go...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief article)
August 22, 2011... For people who thought Antabuse was too expensive, there's now a generic version. Earlier this month Aceto Corporation announced that subsidiary Rising Pharmaceuticals Inc. launched 250-milligran and 500-milligram strengths of disulfiram...

Future of private residential treatment called into question by CMS official.
August 15, 2011... Residential treatment is on its way out, many voices have been saying in recent months. Whether this is because of federal policy, state cutbacks, managed care, or some other reason is unclear, but the message seems to defy the promise of parity...

Combined effort of OTP neighbors will provide primary and MH care.(Treatment Program Profile)
August 15, 2011... In a case of two neighbors pulling together to improve their community of patients, a pair of Baltimore treatment programs with roots in methadone treatment are joining forces--but not in a merger--to establish more comprehensive care for their...

SAMHSA answers questions on need for residential treatment.(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration )
August 15, 2011... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) sent ADAW responses via email to specific questions about its stance regarding including residential in an essential health benefit. They are below. Is SAMHSA promoting --...

Study shows AA meetings increase abstinence in young women.
August 15, 2011... A study from Hazelden's Butler Center for Research has found that involvement with AA and the 12 steps increases the likelihood of abstinence in young women. According to the study, published in the current issue of Alcoholism Treatment...

CSAT answers questions about physician caseload for Suboxone.
August 15, 2011... Prescribing for buprenorphine has skyrocketed in recent years (see graph, right), as has prescription drug abuse. Against the background of increasing reports of Suboxone diversion, as well as an expected version of a generic version in coming...

NASADAD receives $1.1 million grant from SAMHSA.
August 15, 2011... The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admimistration (SAMHSA) has awarded $1.1 million to the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) to provide technical assistance (TA) to help states move to-ward...

ONDCP speaks up for substance abuse integration.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Office of National Drug Control Policy)(Conference news)(Brief article)
August 15, 2011... At last week's federal meeting on integration of health care services, Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, stressed the importance of including substance abuse treatment when integrating services with primary...

Army wants counselors -- really?(BRIEFLY NOTED)
August 15, 2011... Two weeks ago we wrote about a one-week-only hiring offer by the Army for substance abuse counselors. Needed: 130 by October 1. Pay starting at $50,000. Too good to be true? In fact, if you open all necessary links and look for the requirements,...

Tweet alert!(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Brief article)
August 15, 2011... While SAMHSA officials were in Atlanta last week learning how to use Twitter to prevent substance abuse, Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the ONDCP, was already into his second week of tweeting. Follow him at @RafaelONDCP. By the way, Rafael's...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
August 15, 2011... Children and Family Futures will present "Putting the Pieces Together for Children and Families: The National Conference on Substance Abuse, Child Welfare, and the Courts" on September 14-16 in National Harbor, Maryland. For more information, go...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief article)
August 15, 2011... One of the most important tools to help produce medications that treat addiction is the paper clip, according to a team at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Sydney, Australia. According to a study published in the journal...

South Dakota counselors cry foul in state 'takeover' by mental health.
August 8, 2011... South Dakota substance abuse treatment providers are dismayed by a state reorganization that has set them adrift, abolishing the former Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and leaving only mental health officials running the Department of Social...

Common-sense efforts improve access, revenues at Maine center.(Treatment Program Profile)(Organization overview)
August 8, 2011... Staff members at some addiction treatment operations might assume that improving access to their services would trigger an influx of clients with limited financial resources, straining the centers' government contracts. Yet administrators at the...

MedMark expansion underscores trend to for-profit OTPs.
August 8, 2011... The investor-driven increase in for-profit opioid treatment programs (OTPs) across the country by Med-Mark Services has been focused on acquisitions in the past ten years. But starting next year, there will be more de novo startups by MedMark,...

Spirituality: the other elephant, in a different room.(FROM THE FIELD ...)
August 8, 2011... "Denial" having been exhausted--mercifully drowned in an African river--it is time to look for and perhaps even to look at an even more glaring absence... one seemingly correlated with the degree of self-conscious professionalism of...

CMS official: treatment expansion, but only outpatient or integrated.(BRIEFLY NOTED)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
August 8, 2011... Another voice besides that of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has chimed in calling for a reduction in residential and standalone treatment--and it's the voices of the payer. In an article published last week in...

Pill mill law expected to increase patient load in Florida.(IN THE STATES)(Brief article)
August 8, 2011... Finally Florida has a pill-mill law, and that means treatment providers are bracing for new patients who are unable to obtain their prescription painkillers and need treatment, the Sun Sentinel reported in a comprehensive, excellent article last...

Resources.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
August 8, 2011... A webinar on "Addiction as a Chronic Relapsing Disease" focusing on buprenorphine treatment will be presented by Charles P. O'Brien, M.D., on August 9 from Noon to 1 p.m. ET. The webinar is presented by the American Psychiatric Association as...

Coming up ...(Conference notes)
August 8, 2011... Children and Family Futures will present "Putting the Pieces Together for Children and Families: The National Conference on Substance Abuse, Child Welfare, and the Courts" on September 14-16 in National Harbor, Maryland. For more information, go...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief article)
August 8, 2011... There may be parity in health insurance, but when it comes to other kinds of insurance, people with substance use disorders--past or present--have a long way to go. The "preliminary inquiry form" used by life insurance underwriters asks...

CMS proposes free SBI for Medicare patients, but barriers still exist for PCPs.
August 1, 2011... The federal government has proposed adding screening and brief intervention (SBI) for alcohol use disorders as a free service for Medicare beneficiaries. In a July 19 coverage decision memorandum, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...

Small Wis. facility redefines itself after shock of county funding loss.
August 1, 2011... While no one would recommend an immediate loss of one's primary funding source as a strategy for organizational improvement, the shock of that development for the Jackie Nitschke Center in Green Bay, Wis., became the catalyst for dramatic...

Louisiana budget passes without welfare drug-test provision.(State Budget Watch)(Brief article)
August 1, 2011... A bill put forward by Rep. John LaBruzzo (Republican from Metairie County) to randomly test 20 percent of welfare recipients for drugs, passed by the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committee, did not get the two-thirds majority needed for...

National Council to poll substance abuse providers on primary care.
August 1, 2011... The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, as part of its training and national assistance center grant with the federal government, is conducting an informal survey of substance abuse treatment programs to learn more about best...

NIAAA study finds low response to alcohol is main cause of alcohol problems.(National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse)(Brief article)
August 1, 2011... People who have a low level of response to alcohol--who require more alcohol than most people to feel an effect--to alcohol have a a greatly increased risk for heavy drinking and alcohol problems, according to research to be published in the...

Narconon sued for substandard treatment and fraud.(BRIEFLY NOTED)
August 1, 2011... Danette Elliott and her husband are suing Narconon for fraud and breach of contract, reported Courthouse News Service July 21. Narconon charged her $34,000 for alcoholism treatment and refused to give her a refund when she left after two days....

Army calls for 130 substance abuse counselors.(BRIEFLY NOTED)
August 1, 2011... Starting today--August 1--and only for one week, the Army Substance Abuse Program is accepting applications for substance abuse counselor positions. It needs to fill 130 positions by October 1. Ten additional counselors each are needed for...

'Flexibility' Will Be Allowed by Exchanges
August 1, 2011... The Obama administration, in releasing its proposed rule on insurance exchanges July 11, says it will leave most of the decisions up to the states. Every state that doesn't establish an exchange will have a federal exchange, but the proposed...

SAAS picks Qualifacts for EHR partner.(BUSINESS NEWS)(State Associations of Addiction Services)(electronic health record)(Brief article)
August 1, 2011... The State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) and Qualifacts Systems announced this month that they have entered into an exclusive partnership to offer Qualifacts' Software-as-a-Service electronic health records to the SAAS member...

Coming up ...(Calendar)
August 1, 2011... The annual meeting of International Doctors in Alcoholics Anonymous will be held August 3-7 in Tucson, Arizona. Go to www.idaa.org/2011 for more information. Children and Family Futures will present "Putting the Pieces Together for Children...

In case you haven't heard ...(Brief article)
August 1, 2011... Last month, three Harvard psychiatrists were sanctioned by the university for taking money from drug companies, The Crimson reported July 7. They are Joseph Biederman, M.D., Thomas J. Spencer, M.D., and Timothy E. Wilens, M.D., all three of whom...