Busting Addiction and Its Myths
The purpose of our podcast is to help families learn the truth about addiction and alcoholism so that they can take the right action to help the addict they love and to help themselves at this critical time in their lives. Exposing the truth about addiction and alcoholism also requires that we bust the myths surrounding both addiction/alcoholism and the recovery process.
Busting Addiction and Its Myths
Mini Series 12 - Addiction Q&A - 4
Q: How knowledgeable are physicians about alcoholism and drug addiction?
A: On average, not very. The fact is that fewer than 25% of physicians are given any course work in medical school on alcoholism and addiction. Recognition of this failure in light of the overdose crisis in the US which has now claimed over 108,000 lives in 2023 led to the Medication Access and Training act of 2022 (MATE). It requires physicians and other health care professionals who prescribe controlled substances to complete a one-time-only eight hours of training on the treatment and management of patients with substance use disorders.
Had more doctors been aware of the dangers of potential overdose sooner, many thousands of lives might have been saved.