underwriting

Identifying Patients With Problematic Drug Use in the ED

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Among patients who reported using marijuana as their primary drug, more than 46% met the criteria for having a drug problem. “This is an important finding to highlight because marijuana use is often considered less dangerous than other illicit drug use,” Dr. Macias-Konstantopoulos says. According to the study, a subgroup of marijuana users was at higher risk for problematic drug use, including age younger than 30, smoking tobacco, binge drinking, using drugs daily, and reporting that their ED visit was related to their drug use

via Physician’s Weekly for Medical News, Opinions, Features Articles.

Alcoholism after gastric bypass: Is it in your mind or gut? » Scienceline

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In 2012, a large study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the percentage of patients abusing alcohol increased from 7.6 percent before surgery to 9.6 percent two years after surgery — that’s potentially an additional 2,000 alcoholics each year in the United States. Since then, a growing body of evidence has corroborated these findings. The longest-running study suggests the effect persists even a decade after surgery.

via Alcoholism after gastric bypass: Is it in your mind or gut? » Scienceline.

Cannabis-Related ED Visits Rise in States With Legalized Use

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Cannabis-Related ED Visits Rise in States With Legalized Use.

A second poster presented at the AAAP meeting examined “impact on the healthcare system” and showed that 10,532,658 ED visits due to any type of substance abuse occurred between 2007 and 2011 in the United States.

During that period, cannabis-related ED visits increased 67.8%, and alcohol-related visits increased by 49%. Also increasing were visits related to opioids (by 42%), hallucinogens (40.4%), sedatives (40%), and amphetamines (20.6%).

Interestingly, the percentage of visits related to cocaine use decreased by 67.9%.

 

“This poster is definitely starting to bring out some of the real concerns that I have as a healthcare provider ― that you are exposing more people to higher potency and riskier forms of the substance. This is not the shake weed that somebody smoked in the ’70s. This is four times more potent. It’s a much riskier proposition than a lot of people think.”  Dr Ryan Caldeiro