California Society of Addiction Medicine
Encyclopedia
California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) is the California organization of physicians who specialize in treating addiction
. Addiction medicine
is the medical specialty that provides care and treatment for people with substance use disorder
. It includes both pharmaceutical and behavioral treatments and aligns with other specialties including public health
, psychiatry
and internal medicine
. CSAM http://www.csam-asam.org was founded in 1973, and has been a State Chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine
since 1989.
CSAM advances the treatment of alcoholism
and other addictions through education of physicians, physicians-in-training, and other health professionals. Additionally, CSAM promotes research, prevention and implementation of evidence-based treatment. It advocates for legislation and regulations that improve and expand substance abuse treatment.
and addiction and screening and brief intervention to opioid
treatment and trauma and addiction.
The Medical Education and Research Foundation http://www.merfweb.org/about_merf.vp.html for the treatment of alcoholism and other drug dependencies was established in 1981 as a sister organization to the California Society of Addiction Medicine. The Foundation’s mission is to increase and improve the education of physicians about all aspects of addiction, including harmful drinking or drug use, medical sequellae, family impact and how to support recovery. Its primary activities are mentored learning experiences at annual, three-day conferences on addiction medicine offered by CSAM.
elected officials and regulators, while partnering with many other medical and nongovernmental organizations. Among the issues that CSAM supports are increasing funding for addiction treatment, raising standards for the substance abuse treatment workforce, improving treatment and prevention for adolescents and young adults and providing better treatment opportunities for health professionals who suffer from the disease of addiction
.
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
. Addiction medicine
Addiction Medicine
Addiction medicine is a medical specialty that deals with the treatment of addiction. The specialty often crosses over into other areas, since various aspects of addiction fall within the fields of public health, psychology, social work, psychiatry, and internal medicine, among others...
is the medical specialty that provides care and treatment for people with substance use disorder
Substance use disorder
Substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. In DSM-IV, the conditions are formally diagnosed as one or the other, but it has been proposed that DSM-5 combine the two into a single condition called "Substance-use disorder"....
. It includes both pharmaceutical and behavioral treatments and aligns with other specialties including public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
, psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
. CSAM http://www.csam-asam.org was founded in 1973, and has been a State Chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine
American Society of Addiction Medicine
The American Society of Addiction Medicine is a physician society with a focus on addiction and its treatment.- History :ASAM has its roots in research and clinical traditions that pre-date its founding in the early 1950s, when Ruth Fox, M.D. began regular meetings with other physicians interested...
since 1989.
CSAM advances the treatment of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and other addictions through education of physicians, physicians-in-training, and other health professionals. Additionally, CSAM promotes research, prevention and implementation of evidence-based treatment. It advocates for legislation and regulations that improve and expand substance abuse treatment.
Education and Research
CSAM provides a wide range of continuing medical education http://www.csam-asam.org/evt/evt_list.php, including a nationally recognized preparatory course for the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM)http://www.asam.org/abam.html Certification Exam. CSAM also holds an annual conference on the State of the Art in Addiction Medicine and workshops on issues ranging from painPain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
and addiction and screening and brief intervention to opioid
Opioid
An opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...
treatment and trauma and addiction.
The Medical Education and Research Foundation http://www.merfweb.org/about_merf.vp.html for the treatment of alcoholism and other drug dependencies was established in 1981 as a sister organization to the California Society of Addiction Medicine. The Foundation’s mission is to increase and improve the education of physicians about all aspects of addiction, including harmful drinking or drug use, medical sequellae, family impact and how to support recovery. Its primary activities are mentored learning experiences at annual, three-day conferences on addiction medicine offered by CSAM.
Advocacy
CSAM members advocate http://www.csam-asam.org/public_policy.vp.html for greater treatment access and improved treatment at the state level among CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
elected officials and regulators, while partnering with many other medical and nongovernmental organizations. Among the issues that CSAM supports are increasing funding for addiction treatment, raising standards for the substance abuse treatment workforce, improving treatment and prevention for adolescents and young adults and providing better treatment opportunities for health professionals who suffer from the disease of addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
.