Educational Activities Archives

Lab testing in the assessment of substance use disorders may involve many different substrates, though urine drug testing (UDT) dominates clinical practice. This course is meant to provide a short guide to effective use of lab testing in the treatment of the patient with a substance use disorder, which, to a surprising degree, is often misused or misunderstood. The course describes the clinical role of lab testing to guide treatment and not to be punitive. To properly use and interpret UDT, it reviews common false positives and false negatives that might occur in the immunologic-based first step in UDT. To understand confirmatory gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, it goes on to describe the metabolism of common opioids and benzodiazepines, because the detected substance is often just a downstream metabolite of several possible parent compounds to which the patient was exposed. The course concludes with a discussion of the difference between UDT for clinical purposes versus forensic ones.

Substance Use disorders in Older Adults is a growing problem not only in the United States but throughout the developed world. The Baby Boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964 is turning 58-76 years old this year. This group is presenting with more Substance Use Disorders and need for substance use treatment now. The use of an artificial cut off age of 65 years of age as the definition of elderly or old is somewhat arbitrary and this will be discussed. The module will look at the prevalence, screening and treatment of tobacco, alcohol, opioids, non-medical use of prescription drugs and illicit opioids as well as stimulants and cocaine, marijuana and non-opioid sedative hypnotic agents. A case vignette will drive the CME portion and elucidate the tenants of the module.

Provides a basic introduction of the concepts of the disease of addiction and the role of the reward system. Using neuroscience concepts as a foundation, clinical manifestations of the disease of addiction are then discussed in the form of case-based presentations. 

Outlines the basic concepts of alcohol and drug use disorders. Standard drink sizes, screening for alcohol use disorders and an introduction to alcohol withdrawal management are discussed. A basic overview of the major drug use disorders are then discussed in a clinically-relevant manner. 

Provides an overview of the history of opioid use with an overview of contributing factors to the current epidemic. Using clinical cases, opioid use disorder is then discussed in detail. Finally, there is a discussion of treatment options.

Psychiatric pharmacists are advanced practice clinical pharmacists committed to being part of an interdisciplinary team treating substance use disorders, often in combination with serious mental illness. The following SUD toolkits were developed to further the knowledge of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.