The Mental Health Clinician, September 2011 (Vol. 1, Iss. 3)

Substance Use Disorders

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Addiction is a compulsive, drug-seeking behavior, characterized by a loss of control that leads a person to continually acquire and use the drug/substance, despite serious medical and/or social consequences. In 2009, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that an estimated 20.8 million adults were identified as having a substance use disorder, defined as dependence on or abuse of an illicit drug or alcohol. Pharmacists are well-positioned to address substance use disorders with regards to identification and education, but the ways in which pharmacists are involved in addressing substance use disorders remain unclear. This issue of the Mental Health Clinician explores the implications of co-occurring disorders on medication adherence and pain management.  The role of a pharmacist in substance use disorder research is also described and the need for addiction education for future pharmacists is discussed. Read the full editorial.

  

Next Month: Psychiatric Pharmacy Manifesto

The long anticipated CPNP Psychiatric Pharmacy Manifesto will be unveiled in the October 2011 issue of the Mental Health Clinician. Dr. Glen Stimmel, one of the principal driving forces behind the production of the manifesto, has declared that "The time has come for psychiatric pharmacy to set in writing and publicly declare our principles, beliefs, and intentions with this psychiatric pharmacy manifesto".   Aspects of the manifesto include our commitment to patient care and vision of the future. The issue will also display several related articles exploring the different facets of the Manifesto as it relates to our profession and specialty. This should prove to be a "must read" for all psychiatric pharmacists.

Articles in this Issue

  • MHC Toolbox: Drugs of Abuse This month’s MHC Toolbox of Drugs of Abuse, though not all-inclusive, is based on information found through government and drug agency organizations and is meant to provide insight into the effects of many illicit substances, including bath salts and spice.
  • Interview & Innovative Practice with Merrill Norton, Pharm.D., NCAC II, CCS, CCDP-D Our interview with Dr. Merrill Norton provides insight into his life and the events that led him to develop his innovative practice as well as how he has and plans to educate future pharmacists in the area of addiction pharmacy.
  • Buprenorphine and Acute Pain Management Julie Waldfogel discusses the case of a patient maintained on sublingual buprenorphine and his options for acute pain management after total knee replacement.
  • Managing Pain in Patients with Addiction The Recertification Committee recognized a need to provide evidence-based education to pharmacists and other health care providers to encourage our professions to be agents of change in providing solutions to the prescription drug abuse epidemic and has developed programming to be presented at multiple meetings.
  • Reprise: Medication Adherence and Attitudes in Patients with Bipolar Disorder and Current versus Past Substance Use Disorder Authors Christian Teter and Anthony Falone discuss the results and implications of their recent publication in Psychiatry Research of substance use disorders and co-occurring bipolar disorder on medication adherence.
  • Interview with Aimee McRae-Clark, Pharm.D., BCPP Our interview with Dr. Aimee McRae-Clark provides insight into her practice, as well as advice on research, to help pharmacists generate ideas on how substance abuse and dependence might be integrated into their practice.
  • Principles of Addiction Medicine 4th Edition Scott Schappacher reviews the 4th edition of Principles of Addiction Medicine, a text from the American Society of Addiction Medicine which covers the basic scientific principles to pharmacology of addictive substances.
  

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