Addiction Medicine: Closing the Gap between Science and Practice

All Medical Schools and Residency

Training Programs Should Educate and

Train Physicians to Address Risky

Substance Use and Addiction

All physicians should be educated and trained in
the origins of risky substance use and addiction;
prevention, intervention, treatment and
management options; co-occurring conditions;
and special population and specialty-care needs,
including:

 What constitutes risky substance use, the
harms of such use to health and safety and
the importance of reducing risky use;

 How to screen for risky substance use and
conduct brief interventions when indicated;

 The causes and correlates of addiction;

 How to diagnose addiction; evaluate disease
stage, severity, co-occurring disorders and
needs of special populations; and develop a
treatment and disease management plan
including appropriate support services;

 How to collaborate with and manage a
multidisciplinary team of providers;

 How to provide or supervise psychosocial
and pharmaceutical treatments for addiction
and disease management;

 How to arrange for and connect patients
with auxiliary support services; and

 How to determine the need for specialty care
and connect patients with such care.

These core clinical competencies should be
required components of all medical school
curricula, medical residency training programs,
medical licensing exams, board certification
exams and continuing medical education (CME)
requirements, including maintenance of
certification programs.

Require Non-Physician Health

Professionals to be Educated and Trained

to Address Risky Substance Use and

Addiction

Develop core clinical competencies in

addressing risky substance use and preventing

and treating addiction for each type of non-

physician health professional including

physician assistants, nurses and nurse

practitioners, dentists, pharmacists and graduate-

level clinical mental health professionals

(psychologists, social workers, counselors).

These competencies should include:

 What constitutes risky substance use, the

harms of such use to health and safety and

the importance of reducing risky use;

 How to screen for risky substance use and

conduct brief interventions when indicated;

 The causes and correlates of addiction;

 Available psychosocial and pharmaceutical

treatments for addiction and disease

management;

 How to arrange for and connect patients

with auxiliary support services; and

 How to determine the need for specialty care

and connect patients with such care.

Assure that these core clinical competencies and

specialized training are required components of

all professional health care program curricula,

graduate fellowship training programs,

professional licensing exams and continuing

education (CE) requirements.

For non-physician health professionals involved

in the provision of addiction care, core

competencies also should include how to work

in concert with a patient’s physician and other

health care providers to screen for risky

substance use; provide brief interventions;

diagnose addiction; evaluate disease stage,

severity and co-occurring disorders; and develop