CoE Overview
Introducing the National Institute on Drug Abuse Centers of Excellence for Physician Information
The National Institute on Drug Abuse Centers of Excellence for Physician Information (NIDA CoEs) is 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.
The 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 affects 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 2010, 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, 20.5 million did not receive it.*
Many patients who abuse substances won't seek treatment on their own.
About 95 percent of individuals who did not receive treatment felt that they did not need it.*