addiction medicine


addiction medicine

The field of healthcare which addresses the needs of individuals addicted to substances of abuse, including alcohol and illicit drugs (e.g., cocaine, marijuana, heroin) and others. The field of addiction medicine focuses on prevention, treatment and the patient’s mental health.

Addiction Medicine

A medical specialty focussed on managing addictions, generally understood to mean, of abuse substances. The field is a composite which borrows bits from public health, psychology, social work, psychiatry, and internal medicine, and uses a range of “tools”, including detoxification, rehabilitation, risk reduction, abstinence-based treatment, individual and group therapy, 12-step plans, oversight of halfway houses, managing symptoms of withdrawal (“cold turkey”), acute intervention, and long-term therapies designed to reduce the risk of relapse.

addiction medicine

Substance abuse The health field that addresses the needs of individuals addicted to substances of abuse including alcohol and illicit drugs–eg, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and others; AM focuses on prevention and treatment and mental health