We will leave you with this. The next time you see a patient with an addiction who is in survival mode, see the behaviors as a symptom, document them in the chart, and give the patient a diagnosis of addiction and not just the toxicological syndrome of intoxication or withdrawal. Once you see the behaviors as a symptom rather than a frustration, you will be less angry at the patient and more likely to go at them with a bucket of evidence-based medicine rather than security.
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ACEP Now: Vol 37 – No 02 – February 2018Dr. Waller is a fellow at the National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs and managing partner at Complex Care Consulting LLC. Dr. Schwarz is assistant professor of emergency medicine and medical toxicology section chief at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
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