Episode 26 - The Exploding Epidemic of Substance Use Disorder: What Can We Do? - with Dr Sandra Springer

Episode 26 – The Exploding Epidemic of Substance Use Disorder: What Can We Do? – with Dr Sandra Springer

In this episode of Going anti-Viral, Dr Michael Saag speaks with Dr Sandra Springer from the Yale School of Medicine about the substance use disorder epidemic. Dr Springer describes the history of the epidemic and the recent crisis of overdose deaths in the United States. She talks about the increase in overdose deaths since 1999 due to prescription opioids. Dr Saag and Dr Springer review how HIV practitioners can manage patients with substance abuse disorder, including a discussion of how to manage patients undergoing withdrawal. Finally, they address harm reduction strategies available to practitioners and new data showing a reduction in overdose deaths, providing long-term hope for the effectiveness of these strategies. But they note that more research, funding, and outreach is needed to meet the risks that opioid and non-opioid substances pose in the future.