Patients want to trust that their physicians aren’t judging them or talking about them behind their backs Getting the opportunity to come back to Pittsburgh after four years of undergraduate work there was incredible. The city has come so far; it’s slowly growing into one of the more popular destinations in the nation and I […]
John has been sober since November 24, 2008. “I never did drugs,” he said. Then he pinches together his forefinger and thumb, placing them at his mouth, making the pretty much universal sign for smoking marijuana. “Ok, I smoked a little.” He signs a bottle tipped back into his mouth. “But alcohol was my real […]
Are you trying to make the case for the use of Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment in a hospital setting? Maybe we can help. Last year, we released a one page snapshot on the six R’s that support the use of SBIRT in hospitals. What are those R’s? Rules, Reimbursement, Reform, Results, Retention, Resources. […]
Why might individuals behave in ways that are known to have dire consequences for their long-term health and happiness? Behavioral economics provides a framework to understand when and how people make mistakes. It’s a new field that blends psychology and economics and can provide valuable insights as to why individuals do not behave in their own best […]
Your ongoing relationship with your patient makes you the ideal person to monitor substance use and refer to specialty treatment as needed The latest issue of The Bridge, an e-publication of the National Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network, focused a very meaningful topic for us at IRETA: how can we get folks to actually do SBIRT? […]
Some say sharing session notes with patients improves the treatment of substance use disorders Transparency is a buzzword these days. From political activists protesting NSA activities to parents criticizing the lack of transparency behind the Common Core in schools, people are clamoring for it. We want more transparency from the big corporations who supply our […]
Risks, regulation, and popular images of smoking waterpipes Pro-tobacco forces have taken repetitive and expensive hits in the past several decades. While nearly 45 percent of Americans smoked cigarettes in the 1950s, only 18.1 percent do today. In post-Bloomberg New York City, cigarettes are taxed at 75 percent. Now hookah, after years of hiding in dark and […]
