When Treating Addiction, Don’t Forget Patients’ Other Health Issues
“We don’t want to forget the rest of health when treating substance use disorders,”
When Treating Addiction, Don’t Forget Patients’ Other Health Issues
Helping patients with substance use disorders manage their other health problems can assist them in their recovery, says Sharone Abramowitz, MD, co-chair of the recent California Society of Addiction Medicine conference. She notes addiction medicine professionals often ignore patients’ other chronic health conditions.
“We don’t want to forget the rest of health when treating substance use disorders,” says Dr. Abramowitz, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist in private practice and Director of Behavioral and Addiction Medicine for the Primary Care Medicine Training Program at Alameda Health System. “It’s not just about relapse prevention – we also want to focus on things that improve health.”
People addicted to drugs or alcohol may be out of touch with their bodies, she says. “Often there’s been a lot of damage to their health through substance abuse. We may have to help them deal with diet, exercise, medication management and access to other physical health resources they may need. They can be driven back to using if they are struggling with poor health control.”
This holistic approach is not common in the addiction medicine field, she observes. “Often in substance abuse treatment, we are very focused on helping the person maintain recovery and prevent relapse, with 12-step work and medications that can help in the substance abuse recovery process and co-morbid mental health recovery processes.”
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