12/14/2012

Free webinars for Buprenorphine prescribers

The American Psychiatric Association offers FREE monthly webinars for physician members who have waivers to treat opioid dependence in office-based settings and other interested clinicians. The presentations address cutting-edge topics in treating substance use disorders and feature nationally prominent clinical experts, researchers, and government officials. Join us the second Tuesday of each month at noon Eastern.

The next session in this ongoing series will take place:

Opioid agonist treatment with buprenorphine has been shown to be effective for suppressing opioid withdrawal symptoms, reducing opioid abuse and retaining patients in addiction treatment. Many patients with opioid addiction also abuse other substances, such as alcohol, cocaine, benzodiazepines and prescription stimulants. Buprenorphine prescribers must address the abuse of these other non-opioid substances when they occur in the context of buprenorphine treatment. 

The goal of this session is to explore, through a case discussion, clinical responses to the abuse of non-opioid substances for patients in buprenorphine treatment.  Drs. Baxter and Renner will

• discuss strategies for addressing the abuse of non-opioid substances both at the time of admission to buprenorphine treatment and during ongoing buprenorphine maintenance;
• describe options for enhancing treatment by utilizing specialty addiction treatment modalities; and
• address decision making around discontinuing buprenorphine treatment and procedures for referring patients to more intensive levels of care.

NOTE: Recordings of previous PCSS-B webinars can be accessed at www.pcssb.org (click on the Hot Topics Webinars tab) and at www.psychiatry.org\pcssbwebinars

The Physicians’ Clinical Support System-Buprenorphine (PCSS-B) is operated by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (lead), the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine, and the American Psychiatric Association with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.   Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by (1H79T1022022-01) from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.