- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Dr Jonathan Avery Discusses Causes and Consequences of Concurrent Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders
People with mental illnesses often turn to using substances for self-medication, but this combination causes many problems that worsen quality of life, said Jonathan Avery, MD, director of addiction psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center.
People with mental illnesses often turn to using substances for self-medication, but this combination causes many problems that worsen quality of life, said Jonathan Avery, MD, director of addiction psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Transcript
How do co-occurring substance use disorders and mental illnesses affect a person’s quality of life?
So co-occurring disorders really impact the quality of life for a number of reasons. One is that it’s one thing to struggle with a mental health issue or a substance use disorder, but so often they co-occur and it can be very challenging to find good treatments and effective treatments that can address both. When either the mental illness or the substance use isn’t addressed, it can lead to a lot of problems in terms of how you feel, functional problems, relationship problems, and so our goal is really to encourage all doctors, providers to treat all conditions at once, all co-occurring conditions, because otherwise it’s gonna really impact the quality of people’s lives.
How can substance use increase one’s risk of developing a psychiatric disorder or worsen an existing one?
At times you hear about people starting substance use for self-medication reasons, and often that is how people start: They feel a certain way, depressed, anxious, and they start using substances to help cope, and that, while helping in the moment, always in the long term leads to more problems and disability. It can seem like a good answer in the moment, but I always tell people that eventually it’s going to take over and cause significant impairment.
ATS 2024: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future of Respiratory Care
May 16th 2024The application of artificial intelligence in medicine is anticipated as a highlight of ATS 2024, with sessions exploring its applications in research, radiological interpretation, and pediatric pulmonology.
Read More
The Importance of Examining and Preventing Atrial Fibrillation
August 29th 2023At this year’s American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention, Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, delivered the Honorary Fellow Award Lecture, “The Imperative to Focus on the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation,” as the recipient of this year’s Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology award.
Listen
Looking Back on ISPOR 2024: Hot Policy Topics, Welcome Focus on Employers, and More
May 10th 2024Kimberly Westrich, MA, chief strategy officer of the National Pharmaceutical Council, reflects on the most valuable learnings from the 2024 meeting of ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, including lively discussions of the Inflation Reduction Act and workshops on value assessment.
Read More
Promoting Equity in Public Health: Policy, Investment, and Community Engagement Solutions
June 28th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, on the core takeaways of his keynote session at AHIP 2022 on public health policy and other solutions to promote equitable health and well-being.
Listen
Posters Characterize DMD Caregiver Experiences, Impact of Gene Therapy on Caregiving Demands
May 10th 2024Posters presented at the ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research meeting explored Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) caregiver experiences and gene therapy’s impact on work opportunities for caregivers.
Read More
A Focus on Women: AUA Best Posters Highlight Female Athletes, Prenatal Care, and Women in Urology
May 9th 2024Three posters from the American Urological Association (AUA) 2024 Annual Meeting focused on urinary incontinence in female athletes, prenatal care for fetuses with spina bifida in California, and the experiences of women residents at the Brady Urological Institute.
Read More
