Building on the success of scientific series presented at the 1998 and 2000 annual meetings, APA will again feature a series of presentations focusing on both the medical and the psychiatric aspects of substance abuse.

For the previous years’ presentations, APA collaborated with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to develop and present what turned out to be a highly acclaimed series put together specifically for APA’s annual meeting. Each series brought the latest research findings to practicing clinicians and featured the top experts in the field. These sessions were among the best attended and most highly rated by participants.

Over the last several months, APA has worked closely with representatives of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to plan an annual meeting series titled, "Access to Quality Care: What Works?"

SAMHSA is a federal agency established to strengthen the nation’s health care capacity to provide prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for people with substance abuse and mental illnesses. SAMHSA works in partnership with states, communities, and private organizations to address the needs of people with substance abuse and mental illnesses, as well as the community risk factors that contribute to these illnesses.

Each of SAMHSA’s three centers—the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)—has taken a role in developing sessions that will bring cutting-edge information to attendees.

The series includes medical and research updates with sessions that focus on a broad array of topics such as systems of care, current practices in substance abuse prevention and treatment, and diversity issues in psychiatry. Topics range from detailed clinical pharmacology to the administrative challenges of running an outpatient substance abuse treatment center.

Special populations will be highlighted with issue workshops, symposia, and lectures on patients with medical complications stemming from substance abuse, such as HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C, as well as the cardiac effects of opioid addiction and addiction stemming from control of physical pain. Several presentations will focus on the challenges facing child and adolescent specialists as certain aspects of addiction continue to increase in that population.

The new administrator of SAMHSA, Charles Curie, will also present a noon forum on Monday, May 20, on leadership challenges to mental health and substance abuse programs in the new millennium. In addition, CSAT Director H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., will take part in several presentations.

Individual sessions are scheduled throughout the meeting, from Monday, May 20, through Thursday, May 23. This year’s series has been specially designed to disseminate information on the broad types of challenges encountered by psychiatrists.

More information on the series is available by contacting Beatrice Edner at APA by phone at (202) 682-6326 or by e-mail at bedner@psych.org. ▪