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Addiction Medicine (addiction + medicine)
Selected AbstractsADDICTION MEDICINE IS AN ATTRACTIVE FIELD FOR YOUNG PHYSICIANS,A CALL FOR A EUROPEAN INITIATIVE FOR THE TRAINING IN ADDICTION MEDICINEADDICTION, Issue 7 2009COR A.J. DE JONG No abstract is available for this article. [source] FURTHER REFLECTIONS ON ,WHY SHOULD ADDICTION MEDICINE BE AN ATTRACTIVE FIELD FOR YOUNG PHYSICIANS?'ADDICTION, Issue 2 2009DAVID A. GORELICK No abstract is available for this article. [source] EDITORIAL: Addiction medicine: a new medical specialty in a new age of medicineINTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, Issue 8 2010Y. Bonomo No abstract is available for this article. [source] Determinants of successful chronic hepatitis C case finding among patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment in a primary care settingADDICTION, Issue 12 2009Oliver Senn ABSTRACT Aims Injection drug users are at high risk for chronic hepatitis C virus infection (CHC). Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) offers a unique opportunity to screen for CHC. This study proposed the hypothesis that a general practitioner (GP) with special interest in addiction medicine can achieve CHC screening rates comparable to specialized centres and aimed to investigate determinants for a successful CHC case finding in a primary care setting. Design and participants Retrospective medical record analysis of 387 patients who received opioid maintenance therapy between 1 January 2002 and 31 May 2008 in a general practice in Zurich, Switzerland. Measurements Successful CHC assessment was defined as performance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) serology with consecutive polymerase chain reaction-based RNA and genotype recordings. The association between screening success and patient characteristics was assessed using multiple logistic regression. Findings Median (interquartile range) age and duration of OMT of the 387 (268 males) patients was 38.5 (33.6,44.5) years and 34 (11.3,68.0) months, respectively. Fourteen patients (3.6%) denied HCV testing and informed consent about screening was missing in 13 patients (3.4%). In 327 of 360 patients (90.8%) with informed consent a successful CHC assessment has been performed. Screening for HCV antibodies was positive in 136 cases (41.6%) and in 86 of them (63.2%) a CHC was present. The duration of OMT was an independent determinant of a successful CHC assessment. Conclusions In addicted patients a high CHC assessment rate in a primary care setting in Switzerland is feasible and opioid substitution provides an optimal framework. [source] Why should addiction medicine be an attractive field for young physicians?ADDICTION, Issue 2 2009Michael Soyka ABSTRACT Aims The clinical practice and science of addiction are increasingly active fields, which are attracting professionals from diverse disciplines such as psychology and neurobiology. Our scientific knowledge of the pathophysiology of addiction is rapidly growing, along with the variety of effective treatments available to clinicians. Yet, we believe that the medical specialties of addiction medicine/psychiatry are not attracting the interest and enthusiasm of young physicians. What can be done? Methods We offer the opinions of two experience addiction psychiatrists. Results In the US, there has been a decline in the number of psychiatrists seeking training or board certification in addiction psychiatry; about one-third of graduates with such training are not practicing in an addiction psychiatry setting. There is widespread neglect of addiction medicine/psychiatry among the medical profession, academia and national health authorities. This neglect is unfortunate, given the enormous societal costs of addiction (3,5% of the gross domestic product in some developed countries), the substantial unmet need for addiction treatment, and the highly favourable benefit to cost yield (at least 7:1) from treatment. Conclusions We believe that addiction medicine/psychiatry can be made more attractive for young physicians. Helpful steps include widening acceptance as a medical specialty or subspecialty, reducing the social stigma against people with substance use disorders, expanding insurance coverage and increasing the low rates of reimbursement for physicians. These steps would be easier to take with broader societal (and political) recognition of substance use disorders as a major cause of premature death, morbidity and economic burden. [source] Speciality recognition of addiction medicine in AustraliaADDICTION, Issue 5 2008JAMES BELL No abstract is available for this article. [source] |