Addictions Medicine

You will provide continuity of care by managing your own patients through multiple settings — emergency department, inpatient, detox unit, outpatient, medication assisted treatment (MAT) and suboxone clinic.

In the family medicine center where you will manage your own patient panel, you will be able to manage the addiction diagnosis, as well as other medical diagnoses in the same setting. This will encourage patients to be active in managing all of their non-addiction medical and behavioral health issues in the same clinic with the same provider, creating better care and better outcomes.

You will learn to recognize addiction problems, perform referrals appropriately and effectively, manage patients who refuse referral, work in conjunction with addiction medicine specialists for patients who accept referral and integrate addiction medicine with management of the numerous comorbid medical and psychiatric disorders these patients often exhibit.

The wide range of disorders related to the use and abuse of prescribed medications, non-prescribed substances and alcohol will be addressed. Lecture topics will include discussions on MAT, dual diagnosis, common pitfalls during suboxone treatment and chronic pain treatment issues.

You will have the opportunity to sit in on group treatment sessions.

• conducting a patient-centered history that contains the overarching personal dimensions of the patient’s addictions problems and its context
• using appropriate screening tools to diagnose alcohol and other substance abuse disorders and how to conduct a brief intervention/motivational enhancement interview
• performing relevant physical examinations and identifying evidence, for example, of cirrhosis of the liver, withdrawal manifestations and organic mental symptoms
• succinctly summarizing and synthesizing in the patient’s chart the biopsychosocial aspects of the patient’s addiction problem
• identifying a management plan for those who are pre-contemplative, contemplative, or wish to take action
• involving families and significant others in the patient’s care and decision-making

You will also gain experience helping patients identify the resources in rural communities that are often needed and used by addiction medicine patients.

PGY-2 and PGY-3

Longitudinal; scheduled quarterly