This is interesting. A physician posted a message to an ASAM discussion board about his dissonance related to working in a treatment facility that does not use opioid maintenance treatments. Specifically, buprenorphine. ASAM turned the message board post into a magazine article and summarizes responses to the message. There's a lot that one could respond to. However, … Continue reading We should re-examine policies for opioid addicted physicians?
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.
New wave of overdoses and a place to learn about the problem & solutions
"We are increasingly seeing signs of what appears to be a return to the epidemic levels of 10 years ago, when fentanyl-related drug overdoses were blamed for 236 excess drug deaths," Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen said in a statement. It just so happens that MAADAC's Spring Conference is focused on the opioid … Continue reading New wave of overdoses and a place to learn about the problem & solutions
Sentences to ponder
From Jennifer Matesa: Look at this picture. This is how some people taper off Suboxone. They cut the dissolvable films into little bitty pieces. The company that makes Suboxone does not advise doing this, because they say they can’t guarantee the drug is evenly distributed throughout the film, but guess what?—I think it’s because they … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
AA, evidence and Glaser
Science writer John Horgan takes a look at the Gabrielle Glaser Atlantic article that's gotten so much attention. Here's his overview: The addiction-treatment industry is a racket, which cries out for critical investigation. But Glaser’s article is embarrassingly shallow and one-sided. She cherry-picks data and anecdotes to make A.A. look bad and alternatives look good. … Continue reading AA, evidence and Glaser
Cold water for miracle meds
Keith Humphreys pours cold water on the miracle drug hype: Like everyone else, I constantly see headlines that the cure for some dread disease has been discovered. On those occasions when journalists interview me about such stories, I have a habit of dispensing cold water. For example, a few years ago, a small clinical trial … Continue reading Cold water for miracle meds
Naloxone is not enough – updated
This is a repost from earlier in the week that has been updated to include an exchange with a commenter that touches upon some important themes in responding to OD and opiate addiction. ================ From USA Today: Fulcher [an emergency room physician at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, Ky.]says he generally supports … Continue reading Naloxone is not enough – updated
Naloxone is not enough
From USA Today: Fulcher [an emergency room physician at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, Ky.]says he generally supports giving greater access to naloxone, which at one point his ER administered so often doctors felt like they were running a drive-through OD clinic. But he says new laws "totally ignore" the overall problem of … Continue reading Naloxone is not enough
Why so irrational about AA?
Gabrielle Glaser has gotten another AA bashing article published and it's getting a lot of attention. Of course she doesn't really offer a tangible alternative. I'm not going to write another piece rebutting it, but I'll point you to a few relevant posts. First, in New York magazine, Jesse Singal dismantles Glaser's arguments. As with any … Continue reading Why so irrational about AA?
Residential Treatment Matters
David Sack, in Psychology Today reviews a recently publish 11 year study of heroin users finding that residential treatment may "set the best course": A sweeping 11-year study out of Australia adds fresh understanding to our knowledge of heroin dependence and, in the process, challenges a widely held misconception—that residential rehab doesn’t really do much … Continue reading Residential Treatment Matters
Sentences to ponder
"The addiction must go, the person must stay." - Swedish business' approach to addicted employees
Recovery Review 