"Health & Medical News"

From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

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From:
Treatment Research Institute
600 Public Ledger Building, 150 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: (215) 399-0980
http://www.tresearch.org

Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Walking the line between appropriately prescribing controlled substances and unwittingly contributing to the increase in prescription drug abuse becomes less precarious when certain precautions are taken, say those familiar with the balancing act.

Prescription drug abuse is widespread and on the rise. Nearly 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs in 2005, compared with 3.8 million in 2000 — an 80% jump, says the Justice Dept.

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The federal Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) will be spending millions for a one-shot Super Bowl ad that warns against the dangers of prescription drug abuse, AdAge reported Jan. 24.

The ad features a drug dealer lamenting that business is off because so many teens are getting high on prescription drugs taken from parents’ medicine cabinets. It is part of a new 12-week, $14-million campaign focused not on teens, but their parents. “Teens don’t need a drug dealer to get high, safeguard your prescriptions,” says an announcer at the end of the Super Bowl ad. “Safeguard you teens.”

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Federal researchers say that about 5 percent of 12- to 25-year-olds have misused over-the-counter cold and cough medicines to get high, MSNBC reported Jan. 9.

Both the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration have warned about the growing abuse of DXM- and codeine-based medications that in high doses can cause hallucinations and other problems. The medicines can be mixed with soda or sports drinks to create concoctions dubbed “Syrup,” “Purple Drank,” or “Lean.”

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The president of Great Britain’s Royal College of Physicians said that alcohol education efforts have failed and that the only way to prevent excessive drinking is to raise alcohol prices, ban alcohol advertising, and reduce availability, Reuters reported Dec. 21.

The Royal College’s Ian Gilmore joined liver specialist Nick Sheron of Southampton University Hospital issued a statement saying, “To suggest, as producers and retailers do, that increasing the price of alcohol would not reduce alcohol-related harm goes against the evidence and the fundamental principles of marketing — product, price, promotion, and place.”

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Substance abuse treatment clients are increasingly less likely to be treated solely for alcohol abuse, according to recently released data from an annual survey of all public and private substance abuse treatment facilities in the United States.

The percentage of clients in treatment solely for the abuse of alcohol decreased from 30.5% in 1995 (the first year data was collected) to 18.5% in 2006 (the most recent year for which data are available). At the same time, the percentage of clients in treatment for other drug abuse increased from 23.4% to 35.1%.

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Youths who begin smoking at age 12 or younger are more likely to meet the criteria for past year alcohol and drug abuse or dependence, according to a recent analysis of data from the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

Twelve percent of youths who initiated daily smoking at age 12 or younger met the diagnostic criteria for past year alcohol abuse or dependence, compared to 9.6% of those who began smoking at age 16 or older.

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The presence of illicit drugs in a household alone is not enough to make a case for child endangerment under Utah state law, the Utah Supreme Court has ruled.

The Deseret Morning News reported Oct. 27 that the court said that the child-endangerment statute can only be applied if a child has “reasonable” access to drugs. The ruling came in response to a pair of cases where women were charged with child endangerment after being arrested on drug and drug-paraphernalia charges.

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Women seeking recovery from addiction often must also overcome a history of sexual abuse as well as the challenges of raising children, poverty, lack of education and other obstacles, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Oct. 17.

Sexual abuse, domestic violence and depression can be both a cause and effect of alcohol and other drug use among women, experts say. One study estimated that 70 percent of female addicts have a history of sexual abuse, compared to 12 percent of men, including incest and sexual trauma as children or teenagers.

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