NIH
Health Care Costs and Addiction…A relationship.
Jun 7th
Health Care
The interrelationship between addiction treatment and general health was noted in a report by the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2006, an Institute study bureau found that improving the nation’s general health and resolving the major problems of the overall health care system will require attending equally to the major problems of mental and substance use health care.
“Some of the destructive medical consequences of drug abuse and addiction are temporary – the conditions improve after patients receive treatment and are able to stop their drug use. Other consequences may be more persistent, diminishing the quality of patients’ health long after drug use has stopped. Whether short-lived or chronic, the growing list of recognized health consequences of abuse and addiction underscores the fact that drug abuse is not just a brain disease that exists in medical isolation – it manifests itself throughout the body with a broad array of medical consequences.”
–Feb 2004 Dr. Nora Volkow. Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse
Treating people for addiction disorders reduces expensive health care use. Without a doubt, there is a health care justification for treating addiction, but there also is a proven economic justification. Addiction treatment programs result in significant cost-savings for health care systems compared with the cost of not treating addictions. In addition, treating addiction will save money from the reduced costs of treating other general medical and chronic illness conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
When addiction is treated, the overall health of patient improves. The mountain of evidence shows that these patients fare better with their other health issues and use fewer costly medical services. Several studies have found that substance abuse treatment reduces the medical costs of patients with alcohol and drug use disorders, who utilize health care services at a much higher rate than other patients.
Addiction is pervasive in the United States. An estimated 23 million Americans suffer from alcohol and drug addiction, according to the most recent government survey. Yet only one in 10 of these persons – 2.4 million – get treatment. With advances in our health care system we, as a nation may be able to arrest, no pun intended, our mental health problems and save our money. Every little thing we do has an effect on the rest.
A Program For Recovery
May 6th
Treatment for Addiction
Substance abuse programs, can be the introduction to the program that can provide lasting sobriety. Interestingly, medical professionals do not have any pharmaceutical remedies for drug/alcohol addiction, which is often resistant to talk therapy only. Furthermore, relapse rates run as high as 40 to 60 percent for many types of substance abuse. Although, Heroin addicts often benefit from methadone, a synthetic opioid that thwarts cravings by substituting for some of heroin’s effects; naltrexone, an opioid receptor blocker, helps alcoholics kick their habit by reducing the desire for alcohol. But most victims of drug dependence are left with no antidote to the neurological havoc their habit has wrought in their brain.
“We have very few medications for the treatment of addiction,” says Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “and it’s urgent” that more such drugs are developed.
The urgency for drugs that aid the detox process are crucial. More importantly they allow the user to be open to new ideas and calm the mind enough to seek change. While in the grip of detox, the addict wants nothing more than to stop the pain. Therefore, advancements in medications for addiction give the addicted a better chance of gaining a foothold in changing and laying the foundation for a way of life that requires responsibility to ones own journey. Currently, the only miracle cure “medicine” for lasting sobriety has been adhering to a 12 step program post-treatment, developing a fellowship, and being of service.
Addiction Is A Chronic Disease
Apr 20th
“Persons with addictive disorders suffer from many of the same medical conditions as nonaddicted persons, but addiction can interfere with the disease or its management.” – Dr. Richard Saitz
Associate Director and Lead Investigator, Youth Alcohol Prevention Center, Boston University School of Public Health
For example:
Addiction is in accord with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition for chronic disorders:
They are prolonged, lasting for at least three months, do not resolve spontaneously, and are rarely cured completely.
That said, addiction treatment is less available than remedy for other diseases. Most researchers say addiction may require lifelong management. One way to analyze addiction to alcohol and drugs is to measure it up against the attributes of other “real” chronic diseases. Scientific research that addiction many shared characteristics with other major chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and asthma. [as stated in “Drug Dependence, a Chronic Medical Illness,” A. Thomas McLellan] he concluded, “Treatments for these illnesses are effective but heavily dependent on adherence to the medical regimen for that effectiveness.”
The Adolescent Brain and Addiction
Apr 14th
Drug user brain activity
The adolescent brain is different from an adult brain because it is not yet fully matured. According to NIDA’s Dr. Volkow, adolescent brains are more susceptible to drug abuse and addiction than fully developed adult brains. However, because it is still growing, the adolescent brain also under the right conditions have a better opportunity for greater resilience. Even though treatment can yield positive results, sadly families are unwilling to look outside the home for help due to concerns about the “shame” associated with treatment. The adolescent that uses drugs/alcohol in a regular and frequent manner is quickly affected more so than the adult who uses in the same manner and duration. The social and emotional skills ideally acquired during this period of rapid change often are not learned when the youth is abusing drugs/alcohol, which results in psychosocial stunting of development. Drugs and alcohol have been the cause of many teenage traffic accidents, school drop out rates, teen pregnancy, crime, and suicide. Understanding adolescent drug use and potential addiction is attainable once good grasp of reality and examination techniques are acquired. It is important to identify the signs of addiction in youth and be able to arrest the decent into drug and alcohol addiction.
Science of Addiction
Apr 9th
“Addiction is a disease — a treatable disease — and it needs to be understood.”
– Dr. Nora Volkow
Throughout the last hundred years, scientists studying drug abuse fought against the powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of alcoholism and addiction. When doctors began to study addictive behavior early in the 20th century, they believed addicts and alcoholics were morally flawed and lacked willpower. Those archaic views shaped the first fifty years of society’s responses to drug abuse, wanting to treat it as a choice in moral failing rather than a health problem, which led to an emphasis on break-down maintainence rather than preventative and therapeutic actions. Today, thanks to science (and according to TIME Magazine) our views and our responses to drug/alcohol abuse have shifted dramatically. Recent discoveries about how the brain works have changed our understanding of drug/alcohol abuse and revolutionized addiction treatment.