I've posted before about maintenance medications, like buprenorphine, that are frequently referred to as the gold standard. I've also posted about how there may be a discrepancy between the kinds of outcomes people with opioid addiction are seeking and the outcomes found in the evidence-base for maintenance treatments. I've also pointed out that, while many … Continue reading “bad doctors are not going to become good doctors because you give them more rules”
Author: Jason Schwartz
I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I currently serve as the Director of Social Work and Spiritual Care for a healthcare system. I've also served as the Director of Behavioral Health at another hospital. I'm also a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work.
Views expressed here are my own.
Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.
The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
[Note: This is a repost from 1/19/18. This narrative has continued to gather steam over the past year. It's not that this narrative contains no truth, it's that it's incomplete and misleading.] The narrative that the opioid and overdose crisis is a product of despair has become very popular. The logic is that people in … Continue reading The opioid crisis as a disease of despair?
More on “alternative endpoints”
I've posted before on "alternative endpoints" for treating opioid use disorders, which is the idea that research on treatments should not just focus on abstinence as an outcome. There is now a push for alternative endpoints for alcohol use disorders: Reductions in alcohol use bring about significant improvement in adverse consequences, mental health status, and … Continue reading More on “alternative endpoints”
“Everyone should get that kind of care”
Marie Claire has a well done article about a doctor with addiction and highlights the gold standard care that addicted physicians receive. The PHP model has shown remarkable results. The first national study of state PHPs, which was published in the Journal of Substance Abuse in 2009, found that of 904 physicians enrolled in 16 … Continue reading “Everyone should get that kind of care”
“shaming,” “stigmatizing,” and call-outs
Something is amiss in recovery advocacy. Earlier this week, the Surgeon General's office tweeted the following paraphrase of a speech given by the Surgeon General. (Later clarified to be incorrectly transcribed.) https://twitter.com/Surgeon_General/status/1092797363058552837 Addiction is not a moral failing and that it affects "good" families. Nice message, right? We need more influencers to say the same … Continue reading “shaming,” “stigmatizing,” and call-outs
“the sale of opioids and the treatment of opioid addiction are ‘naturally linked'”
Of interest to me is their interest in entering the addiction treatment market. ProPublica has a new report that review's documents from a lawsuit filed against Purdue Pharma. The suit alleges that Purdue misled doctors and the public in ways that created the opioid crisis and blamed patients when they, predictably, developed opioid use disorders. … Continue reading “the sale of opioids and the treatment of opioid addiction are ‘naturally linked'”
Survival, stabilization, AND flourishing
A great tweet from Brandon Bergman: https://twitter.com/brandonbphd/status/1071783312983814146
Free markets and opioids
This makes zero sense in an opioid crisis. Who wants this? Are doctors and patients saying that the array opioid medications is incomplete? What's driving this? Public health? Ideology? Market forces? Why are only 4 legislators speaking up? You fill in the blanks.
Should addiction treatment prefer abstinence?
I was perusing past year's articles in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly and came across these two: Achieving a 15% Relapse Rate: A Review of Collegiate Recovery and Physician Health Programs A Perspective from the Field: The Disconnect between Abstinence-Based Programs and the Use of Motivational Interviewing in Treating Substance Use Disorders Achieving a 15% relapse rate … Continue reading Should addiction treatment prefer abstinence?
Policy change requires a good story
From Addiction: . . . whether it is truly an accurate model of human addictive behaviour is more questionable. It is certainly true that numerous studies since Rat Park have shown the importance of environment in influencing human drug use, particularly in early years, but when considering socio-ecological models of health, drug use, drug choice, … Continue reading Policy change requires a good story
Recovery Review 