Call for 2012 Dr. Frederick B Glaser Award Nominations |
| January 26th, 2012 |
The Governor’s Institute is requesting nominations for the Third Annual Frederick B. Glaser Award: This award was developed to honor one of the pioneers of Addiction Medicine in North Carolina. The award will be given at the Addiction Medicine 2012 Conference in Asheville, NC on March 30 & 31. Criteria for the Award (1) providing treatment for those suffering from addictive disorders, (2) education: particularly related to training of medical or other health care professionals), (3) research, or (4) leadership in the political arena to increase funding or access to care Contributions can be in one or more of these areas but should preferably have impact beyond the personal or local realm. The person’s activities should have demonstrated ongoing commitment and persistence of effort over a significant period of time. The extension of the impact of these activities beyond NC to the national level would be of significance but not critical or necessary. Please send your Frederick B. Glaser Award Nominee along with no more than 1 page of why this nominee fits the above criteria to Tyler Van Steinburgh at tyler.vansteinburgh@governorsinstitute.org or 1121 Situs Court, Suite 320 Raleigh, NC 27606 by February 10, 2012. Click here for more information about the 2012 Dr. Frederick B Glaser Awards. |
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Report Calls on Government to Evaluate, Coordinate Education on Prescription Drug Abuse |
| January 26th, 2012 |
Join Together (1/25/12): A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) calls on federal agencies to do a better job of coordinating and assessing the effectiveness of their efforts to educate prescribers and the public about prescription drug abuse. The report notes that while all agencies have established measures to monitor the implementation and functional elements of their education programs, only two agencies have established or are planning to set up ways to evaluate the impact of their efforts on audiences’ knowledge, attitudes and behavior. “Without outcome evaluations, federal agencies have limited knowledge of how effective their efforts are in achieving their goals — in this case, reducing prescription pain reliever abuse and misuse,” the report notes. To read more, click here. |
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AT Forum January 2012 Edition |
| January 25th, 2012 |
AT Forum (1/25/12): The AT Forum January 2012 Edition has been published and includes several excellent articles such as, Tricare May Soon Cover MAT for Opioid Addiction, New Prison Drug Test for Suboxone Has Smugglers Scrambling and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Policy Impact Report: Prescription Painkiller Overdoses. To read more, click here. |
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CESAR FAX: Drug Poisoning Deaths Rival Motor Vehicle Traffic Deaths |
| January 23rd, 2012 |
CESAR Fax (1/23/12): Nearly as many people die each year from drug poisoning as from motor vehicle traffic accidents, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number of drug poisoning deaths, which includes deaths resulting from illegal, prescription, and over-the-counter drug misuse, has increased nearly every year since 1980. The most significant increases, however, have occurred in the last two decades. To read more, click here
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New NIDA Resource on Drug Abuse Treatment |
| January 23rd, 2012 |
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has recently published a free guide to assist with choosing a drug abuse treatment program. “Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What to Ask” recommends questions that individuals and families who are struggling with addiction should ask to help them make an informed choice. To download this NIDA publication, click here. |
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Medicaid Medical Homes Saved $1 Billion in North Carolina |
| January 23rd, 2012 |
American Medical News (1/23/12): North Carolina’s Medicaid medical home program saved nearly $1 billion in state and federal spending over four years, largely by reducing hospitalizations and emergency department visits. The state’s Medicaid care management program, called Community Care of North Carolina, covered about two-thirds of the state’s 1.5 million Medicaid enrollees in 2010. Some beneficiaries, such as those living in nursing homes, are excluded from the care management program, which formally launched in 1998. The strategy produced a combined $984 million in net savings from fiscal years 2007 to 2010, according to estimates released in mid-December by Milliman, a consultant hired by the state’s Medicaid agency to review the medical home program’s effectiveness. Total savings increased each year and were calculated by comparing actual spending to the expected spending for the same population had it remained in traditional Medicaid. Risk-adjusted spending for program participants in fiscal 2010 was about 15% lower than for others in Medicaid. To read more, click here. |
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Substance Abuse Rates Far Higher in Those With Mental Illness, Report Finds |
| January 19th, 2012 |
Join Together (1/19/12): A new SAMHSA report finds that rates of substance abuse are far higher in people with mental illness. The report found that one in five adults in the United States—nearly 50 million people—experienced mental illness in the past year. Adults with any mental illness in the past year were more than three times as likely to have met the criteria for substance dependence or abuse compared with those without mental illness (20 percent versus 6.1 percent). People with serious mental illness in the past year had a rate of substance dependence or abuse of 25.2 percent. To read more, click here. |
| Posted in News & Updates |
Funded wholly or in part by the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Fund (CFDA #93.959) as a project of the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities & Substance Abuse Services.