News Advisory
National Institute on Drug Abuse to Unveil NIDAMED, Physicians’ Outreach Initiative
|
| What: |
Washington, D.C. – The National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes
of Health, will unveil its Physicians’ Outreach Initiative,
NIDAMED, on Monday, April 20, 2009. At the heart of NIDAMED are tools and resources for medical professionals to screen
their patients for substance use. Research shows that screening,
brief intervention, and referral to treatment, by clinicians
in general medical settings, can promote significant reductions
in alcohol and tobacco use. A growing body of literature
also suggests potential reductions in illegal and nonmedical
prescription drug use. NIDAMED tools, including an online
screening tool and quick reference guide, are designed to
fit into today's busy clinical practices. In 2007,
an estimated 20 million Americans aged 12 or older (around
8 percent of the population) were current (past month) users
of illegal drugs — nearly one in five of those 18-25
years old. The consequences of such drug use can be far reaching — playing
a role in the cause and progression of many medical disorders.
However, many patients do not discuss their drug use with
their physicians, and only a fraction of individuals who
need addiction treatment receive it each year. NIDAMED enables
physicians to be the first line of defense against substance
abuse and addiction and to increase awareness of the likely
impact of substance abuse on a patient’s overall health. |
| When: |
Monday, April 20, 2009, 10:00 a.m. |
| Where: |
The National Press Club
Holeman Lounge, 13th
Floor
529 14th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20045 |
| Host: |
National Institute on Drug Abuse |
Speakers: |
Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
Director, National
Institute on Drug Abuse Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, M.D.,
M.P.H.
Acting United States Surgeon General Michael Maves,
M.D., M.B.A.
Executive Vice President & CEO, American
Medical Association Louis Baxter, M.D., FASAM
President,
American Society of Addiction Medicine (Invited)
Vladmir Poznyak, M.D., Ph.D.
Coordinator, Management of Substance
Abuse, Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse, World
Health Organization (Invited) Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
Commissioner, New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene (Invited)
John Roser (aka “DJ Mink Rockmoore”)
Patient in recovery, referred to drug treatment by his general
practitioner |
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes
of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most
of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at www.drugabuse.gov. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA’s
new DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228
(TDD) or fax or email requests to 240-645-0227 or drugpubs@nida.nih.gov. Online
ordering is available at http://drugpubs.drugabuse.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |
