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The Northeast has been going through a terrible epidemic, a deadly cancer like disease, which has spread across the U.S.  In 2014, Connecticut reported over 420 deaths. In 2015, New Jersey reported over 800 deaths. Did you know right now that the current leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. is due to OPIOID USE? Take a moment and read the U.S. Surgeon General's Report: Addiction in America.  From page 6-2:

• Well-supported evidence shows that the current substance use disorder workforce does not have the capacity to meet the existing need for integrated health care, and the current general health care workforce is undertrained to deal with substance use-related problems. Health care now requires a new, larger, more diverse workforce with the skills to prevent, identify, and treat substance use disorders, providing “personalized care” through integrated care delivery.
• Well-supported scientific evidence shows that the traditional separation of substance use disorder treatment and mental health services from mainstream health care has created obstacles to successful care coordination. Efforts are needed to support integrating screening, assessments, interventions, use of medications, and care coordination between general health systems and specialty substance use disorder treatment programs or services.

Here's another excerpt from the Surgeon General's Report which relates to the U.S. workforce shortage & Medicare, Chapter 6  - page 32: Composition and Education

^{An integrated health and substance use disorder treatment system requires a diverse workforce that includes substance use disorder specialists, physicians, nurses, mental health treatment providers, care managers, and recovery specialists. However, Medicare, and in some states Medicaid, restricts “billable” health care professionals to physicians (including psychiatrists), nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists, physician’s assistants, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and certain other specified practitioners, and does not include as billable the multiple other licensed and certified professionals who are trained to provide services for substance use disorders.}

As a licensed clinical mental health professionals, our ability to assess/diagnose and treat is not confined certain categories in DSM 5. There are many substance use symptoms that mirror mental health conditions and vice versa. I urge you to learn more about substance use screening and assessment to not only improve your practice but also address & effectively discern potential co-occurring disorders. I strongly encourage you to seek training, supervision, continuing education in substance use assessment, co-occurring disorders, and treatment. 

Join SAMHSA's Recovery Live! Webinar:  Explore New Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Tool

Thursday, December 15, 2016 | 2:00–3:00 p.m. EST

The opioid public health crisis in the United States impacts people throughout the nation. Providers and peers working in clinics, hospitals, and health centers are faced with the challenge of helping individuals with opioid use disorder identify effective behavioral health treatment and supportive services that foster long-term recovery.

SAMHSA and the Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) will hold a Recovery LIVE! event on December 15 to share about a new, innovative, web-based tool that can be used by providers and peers to advance the delivery of evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder.

The Recovery LIVE! event titled Opioid Use Disorder, Medication, and Recovery will focus on a new online tool that provides up-to-date information on medication as one option for individuals in or seeking recovery from opioid use disorder. It will highlight how providers and peers can use this tool to connect individuals with the information, resources, and support that they need in order to achieve their recovery goals. Recovery LIVE! participants engage directly with moderators and each other through live chatting, polls, and other interactive features.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/recovery-live-opioid-use-disorder-medication-and-recovery-registration-29488348444