NIDA CoE Overview
Introducing the National Institute on Drug Abuse Centers of Excellence for Physician Information
View Flyer »
The National Institute on Drug Abuse Centers of Excellence for Physician Information (NIDA CoEs) are part of NIDAMED, NIDA's outreach to practicing physicians and physicians in training. NIDAMED represents NIDA's commitment to working with the medical community by providing science-based resources to help physicians (1) increase awareness of the impact of substance use on patients' overall health, (2) identify patient drug use early and prevent it from escalating to abuse or addiction, and (3) identify and refer patients in need of specialty treatment.
The NIDA CoEs were established through a partnership with the American Medical Association's medical education research collaborative, Innovative Strategies for Transforming the Education of Physicians (ISTEP). Since 2007, the NIDA CoEs have developed innovative drug abuse and addiction curriculum resources to help fill some of the gaps in current medical student/resident physician curricula. These new curriculum resources can help prepare physicians for the challenge of identifying and treating patients who require substance abuse screening and follow-up as part of their overall health care.
Centers of Excellence for Physician Information
Boston University School of Medicine
Drexel University College of Medicine/The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Tufts University School of Medicine
University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Creighton University School of Medicine
Why Drug Abuse Education is Critical to Comprehensive Medical Education and Patient Health
Drug use impacts patient outcomes and has wide-ranging health and social consequences.
Medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, HIV/AIDS, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, as well as financial difficulties and legal, work, and family problems can all result from or be exacerbated by drug use.
Only a fraction of individuals who need specialty treatment for drug or alcohol addiction receive it.
In 2008, of the more than 23 million persons aged 12 or older who needed specialized treatment for a drug or alcohol problem in the United States, most-almost 21 million-did not receive it.*
Many patients who abuse substances won't seek treatment on their own.
More than 95 percent of those who did not receive treatment felt that they didn't need it.*
*http://oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k8nsduh/2k8Results.cfm#7.3
