Adrenal fatigue and dysfunction

April 3, 2014

Adrenal fatigue and dysfunction-Addiction

Adrenal fatigue and dysfunction-Definition

Adrenal fatigue can wreak havoc with your life. In the more serious cases, the activity of the adrenal glands is so diminished that you may have difficulty getting out of bed

Adrenal fatigue is a collection of signs and symptoms, known as a syndrome that results when the adrenal glands function below the required level. Most commonly associated with intense or prolonged stress, it can also arise during or after acute or chronic infections, especially respiratory infections such as influenza, bronchitis or pneumonia. As the name suggests, its paramount symptom is fatigue that is not relieved by sleep but it is not a readily identifiable entity like measles or a growth on the end of your finger. You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness or “gray” feelings. People experiencing adrenal fatigue often have to use coffee, colas and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.

Adrenal fatigue can wreak havoc with your life. In the more serious cases, the activity of the adrenal glands is so diminished that you may have difficulty getting out of bed for more than a few hours per day. With each increment of reduction in adrenal function, every organ and system in your body is more profoundly affected. Changes occur in your carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, heart and cardiovascular system, and even sex drive. Many other alterations take place at the biochemical and cellular levels in response to and to compensate for the decrease in adrenal hormones that occurs with adrenal fatigue. Your body does its best to make up for under-functioning adrenal glands, but it does so at a price.

Some of the personal dramas, poor diet, and physical illness can all contribute to draining the adrenal resources of even the healthiest individual. Those in generally poor health, who often suffer from chronic illness or infections, are more likely to develop the problem. People who endure adverse effects from lifestyle choices such as poor diet, substance abuse, or overwork are just a susceptible.

Despite heavy caffeine intake as a desperate attempt by sufferers to restore their vitality, symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue such as chronic tiredness, depression, and general ill-health are just hard to beat. Though one may appear healthy, the effects of the syndrome may be wreaking havoc on their inner state.

Contrary to common belief, an abundance of sleep does not heal the dysfunction. Often, it only serves to complicate it. Sometimes a sufferer may only be able to be out of bed for a few hours before his dragging state forces him to return.

If the adrenal function is left untreated and continues to falter, even the organs in the body will be negatively affected. Maladies will appear in metabolisms and general body functions. A person’s sex drive will be practically non-existent. At the biochemical and cellular levels, responses to the syndrome are those of compensation. Doing its best to make up for decreases in adrenal hormones and under-functioning adrenal glands, the body is at great risk of over-extending itself. When the output of regulatory hormones has been diminished, optimal homeostasis is lost. If the body’s defenses cannot keep up, a clear case of Adrenal Fatigue will most certainly result.

Obviously, one who suffers from the associated symptoms will find it difficult to become sexually aroused. Sex is often the last thing on their mind. At best, a semi-hard erection can be achieved, often not strong enough for penetration. Besides erectile dysfunction and sexual exhaustion, one may also experience delayed orgasm disorder.

If you are feeling faded or overwhelmed, have difficulty recuperating from stress or illness, experience sexual dysfunction and don’t have energy till you’ve been up most of the day, you may have developed the syndrome. Though adrenal fatigue affects millions of people daily, the specifically-named disorder has yet to be formally recognized by modern medicine. Despite this, remedies and formulas have been developed throughout the years and have proven success in combatting Adrenal Fatigue.

Adrenal fatigue and dysfunction-Alcoholism and Addiction

Adrenal Fatigue can both lead to and result from alcoholism. Adrenal support enhances treatment for alcoholism and other addictions.

For many alcoholics, food and drug addicts, Adrenal Fatigue and the resulting hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) predispose them to a compulsive desire for the abused substance. The adrenals become fatigued by the continual overuse of alcohol, drugs or carbohydrates.

Alcohol is poison for the adrenals that should not be consumed by people suffering from Adrenal Fatigue. It is a naked carbohydrate in an extremely refined form that quickly finds its way into the cells of your body, forcing them to make energy at a rapid rate. This sets off a blood sugar roller coaster and uses a large number of the body’s nutrients that are not replaced by the alcohol.

The craving is driven by the body’s desperate need for quick energy that results from weak adrenals. The alcohol temporarily compensates for the signs and symptoms of hypoadrenia but leads to further Adrenal Fatigue after the effects of the alcohol have worn off, producing a further need for alcohol.

Adrenal fatigue and dysfunction-Allergies

With Adrenal Fatigue there a tendency to experience allergies. People with food and environmental allergies commonly have weak adrenal function. Most allergies involve the release of histamine and other substances that produce inflammation. The more histamine that is released, the more cortisol it takes to control the inflammatory response and the harder the adrenals have to work to produce more cortisol.

Cortisol

It’s one of the primary hormones produced by the adrenal glands, is a strong anti-inflammatory, reducing inflammation. The amount of cortisol circulating in the blood is the key factor in controlling inflammation in the body.

The harder the adrenals have to work, the more fatigued they become and the less cortisol they produce, allowing histamine to inflame the tissues more. The vicious circle leads to progressively deeper Adrenal Fatigue and more allergic reactions.

Eliminating foods from the diet and exposure to substances that cause allergic reactions will help break this cycle and improve adrenal function. Food allergens interfere with daily life and are stress on the adrenals. Eliminate food allergies to restore adrenal health.

Adrenal fatigue and dysfunction-Addiction

Lyme disease and Climate Change

March 11, 2014

Lyme disease and Climate Change-New Findings

Research has found out that Lyme disease is greatly associated with climate change.

Historically, Lyme disease is heavily present in the Northeastern United States due to its moderate climate. The feeding period of these ticks in the northeast is being prolonged due to the extended summer temperatures, allowing more time for uninfected larval ticks to become a carrier of the Lyme disease-causing bacteria. Researchers at Yale University have seen clear implications that as the planet warms, more reports of Lyme disease will be expected in the upper Midwest to match the amount of cases in the upper Northeast.

Lyme disease and Climate Change-Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi is the name of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and the nymphal deer tick is the carrier of this pathogen, contracting it from its blood meal. When a pathogen carrying tick bites, the bacteria enters the bloodstream and the victim becomes infected

Lyme disease and Climate Change-Transportation of Lyme disease

Deer ticks have an average two year life span, with three main life stages larval, nymphal and adult. They obtain one meal consisting of blood during each main life phase in order to survive. If the source of their meal is infected with the Lyme disease-causing bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) then it is passed onto the tick. In the tick’s nymphal stage, it passes the infection to its next meal source human or other animal. This feeding cycle is seasonal and innately influenced by climate.

Lyme disease and Climate Change-How Lyme Enters the Food Chain

At the propagation of the larval deer tick is born it is not born as a carrier of the disease. The ticks need to obtain sustenance in order to survive; this nutrition comes in the form of a blood meal which they obtain by sucking the blood of other animals. If the larval tick gets a blood meal from a deer or in a more likely case, a mouse already carrying the disease, the larval tick is then infected with B. burgdorferi.

In order to reach the next phase of the tick’s life, the tick must obtain another blood meal in its nymphal stage, and in the feeding process the tick passes the pathogen on to its meal source, which in some cases is a human. The human will, as a result, become a host for the pathogen. Deer have been the main suspect in being the carrier of the B. burgdorferi, but research shows that this may not be the case because the deer has the ability to flush the disease out of its system. The new suspect is the white-footed mouse, whose body does not entirely dispose of the bacteria.

Lyme disease and Climate Change-What Climate Change means for Lyme disease?

Climate change will have the following effects on Lyme disease: An acceleration of the tick’s developmental cycle, a prolonged developmental cycle, increased egg production, increased population density, and a broader range of risk areas. The ideal habitat for these disease-carrying ticks is one with 85% humidity and a temperature higher than 45°F. The tick finds a suitable microclimate by using its thermo receptors.

Once the larvae have molted into the nymphal stage, the winter forces them to remain dormant until spring. An adult tick no longer needs to hibernate during the winter, so these ticks may become active on warm winter days, yielding a larger nymph population the following year. With an earlier winter thawing, nymphal-staged ticks will become active sooner. The warmer winters will also allow for a higher survival rate of the white-footed mouse, a popular host for the ticks, meaning an increased tick population in the spring and summer.

After discovering how global warming could impact on infectious disease, scientists from Yale University, in collaboration with other institutions, have determined that climate impacts the severity of Lyme disease by influencing the feeding patterns of deer ticks that carry and transmit it.

But, as the Yale team demonstrates, it’s the seasonal cycle of feeding for each stage of the tick’s life that determines the severity of infection in a given region. The researchers found that this cycle is heavily influenced by climate. In the moderate climate of the Northeastern United States, larval deer ticks feed in the late summer, long after the spring feeding of infected nymphs. This long gap between feeding times directly correlates to more cases of Lyme disease reported in the Northeast by the scientists.

When there is a longer gap, the most persistent infections are more likely to survive. These persistent bacterial strains cause more severe disease in humans, leading more people to seek medical attention and resulting in more cases.

But in the Midwest, where there are greater extremes of temperature, there is a shorter window of opportunity for tick feeding, and therefore a shorter gap between nymphal and larval feedings. Due to this, Midwestern wildlife and ticks are infected with less persistent strains, which correlates with fewer cases of Lyme disease reported in the Midwest.

The clear implication of this research is that, as the planet warms, the Upper Midwest could find itself in the same situation as the Northeast: longer gaps between nymphal and larval feeding, and therefore, stronger, more persistent strains of Lyme disease. Other diseases, like malaria, have also been projected to expand in response to climate change, but this is the first study to show how the severity of disease can also be related to climate.

Lyme disease and Climate Change-New Findings

Lyme disease and Stress

March 11, 2014

Lyme disease and Stress-Negative Emotions

Stress and Lyme disease put together brings more harm to human

All of us at some point go through some stressful moments and have high emotions. From a personal experience I want to share with you about the happenings in my work place and my life having been a victim of Lyme disease. In my work routine I interact with many clients of different types, I have always found common links/threads in the emotional patterns with the clients I attend to.

Because I had chronic Lyme disease and about half of my clients have it too, I will outline some of the common emotional denominators I see with this disease. The same is also common with other chronic physical manifestations that involve the immune system. However, they are always part of what I work with when seeing a client with chronic Lyme disease who hasn’t been making any progress in their treatment.

Lyme disease and Stress-How These Affect Us

Unresolved emotional issues and negative emotional patterns can put a huge stress on the immune system, which can allow a disease to take over. Our immune systems are our bodies’ greatest protection. Stress hormones have been found to inhibit the production of cytokines, the agents of the immune system that responds to danger. This response causes these cells to overreact and create an inflammatory response that is over the top, often creating a greater problem than the original danger.

Our systems cannot distinguish the difference between a negative emotional pattern, trauma or wound; or a real threat to our physical health. If the emotional issue or trauma does not get released, our bodies can remain in a perpetual state of stress. Clearing these emotional issues can be highly beneficial in releasing the immune system from suppression.

In my opinion, a disease always serves a purpose that is to keep us safe, to allow us justification to not be perfect, to force us to care for ourselves when we’d otherwise feel too guilty, to make us re-assess how we live, our relationships, and the list goes on.

The only way our body has to communicate with us is with symptoms, and it does a very good job using them to get our attention. Once you take away the body’s reason to try to get your attention, it is amazing how the symptoms can start to fall away because they have no purpose anymore. Ask yourself what is your body trying to tell you?

Lyme disease and Stress-Common Emotional Patterns Leading to Stress

Self-criticism or fear of not being perfect: This is a huge one. My Lyme disease clients are some of the ones that beat themselves up the most about everything. I can attest to having been one of the best examples of these people (and still have to work on it to this day). This process is so unconscious that many people don’t realize it until we start to break down what’s really going on. Some ways this shows up are fear and guilt. If these are themes in your life, chances are that you’re probably a highly self-critical person.

I often recall something a friend used to tell me when I was struggling with chronic health issues: “The mind leads and the body follows” If we are constantly telling ourselves, we aren’t good enough, or criticizing every little thing why do we think the body has any reason to feel deserving of health, and ever come into line with that? What messages are you giving to yourself? Once that you deserve to be healthy, or ones that allow your mind and body to justify that you’re in exactly the right place with deserving the punishment of an illness. Our bodies listen to us – make sure you’re not sending the wrong messages.

Lyme disease and Stress-Inability to trust yourself and/or the flow of life (has to be in control)
Another one I always see is inability to trust – which leads to a feeling of being unsafe in the world. This is the person who tries to control everything. This one is not only completely exhausting, but never works either. We always tend to think that our analytic selves know better than anything or anyone how to run our lives. But, it’s not always true. We over-plan, over research, kill ourselves getting every perspective from every doctor everywhere. But the sheer amount of energy this consumes, takes an unbelievable toll on the body and mind.

How would things be different if you followed the flow of where life was trying to take you? For those of you who believe in the Universe and God, how would things be different if just for a while, we considered they knew more than us? And also considered that our inner selves know what feels right for us? What if we stopped over-researching, over controlling, over analyzing everything and just followed what felt right?

I believe there is an absolute flow to life and by trying to control the path precisely using logic, you may be steering yourself away from the very place you’re meant to go.

I saw a massive shift in my health when I was finally able to just let go…stop holding myself to unrealistic treatment rules I made for myself….trust that if I was feeling something wasn’t the right road for me despite what others’ said, it would be ok. You can’t imagine the strain on your body that’s released when you get to this point of trusting and letting go.

Lyme disease and Stress-Lyme disease and Stress-Taking on too much responsibility
This one is a pattern of taking on everything! I find these clients to be highly energetically sensitive which can be a gift; but the downfall is it’s too easy to take on everyone else’s crap. Once someone has a chronic illness, this can become exacerbated as they suddenly feel like they have to save everyone from going through these themselves. It perpetuates the problem.

This can show up in a few ways: feeling responsible for other people’s feelings, feeling like you have the responsibility to make sure other’s lives are going right, thinking you know better for someone else than they do, and feeling like you have to save people from their own pain or possible mistakes.

This is dangerous as not only are you draining your own energy, but no one has a right to impede on another’s journey. We each walk on our own and you are interfering when you can’t allow someone else to fully be themselves. This attempt at ‘helping’ other people hurts both parties.

Once someone can work through their need to take responsibility, it can release so much healing energy for their own body.

Lyme disease and Stress-Do Any of These Resonate With You?

If any of these resonate with you, it is a good idea to start watching out for this pattern and even watching for how it might correlate with symptoms. Your body is a messenger and it’s trying to tell you something. How would it change your life if for a while, you tried to really, really listen?

Lyme disease and Stress-Negative Emotions

Lyme disease on Marriages

March 11, 2014

Lyme disease on Marriages-Its Effects

Lyme disease can be the cause of rift in marriages if not treated early

Many people suffering from this disease (Lyme disease) are usually not aware of how it can be the contributing factor to the short comings in their marriages or just relationships. Lyme disease can cause increasing irritability and dramatic flares of anger and because of this relationship will almost automatically be affected.

While some Lyme patients become verbally abusive, others lose confidence and withdraw from social situations. For instance a couple who were out going may suddenly find this changing drastically where one is infected with the disease. The healthy one may wonder and ask “what has or is happening to you? We use to go out together and have good time you were so full of life, but now you’re not yourself, you have changed completely.”

This new development in marriages and relationships possess serious need to have the society educated and particularly couples to enable them cope with the new situation. Some Physicians who may not know that Lyme causes personality changes may be dismissive or sharply critical of the patient. This should not be the case instead complete awareness must be embraced.

Lyme disease on Marriages-Domestic Violence

Lyme disease often strikes an entire families and the result is a higher incidence of divorce, family dysfunction, and domestic violence. “Tempers flare and you see increasing conflict. It is like an injury of the brain where patient are less able to think things through, and tend to act impulsively. A mother may suddenly lash out at her child and a husband may lose control and abuse his wife. We must not underestimate the role of infectious disease in domestic violence in our homes.

This can be complicated further if, in addition to Lyme disease, a patient has another tick-borne infection called Babesia, several infections can be transmitted by the same tick, and when Babesia is added to Lyme, this may make the patient more aggressive. “It’s like putting a match to gasoline.” This may explain why there are many cases in court about domestic violence. If not properly managed, then we will continue to hear news of people assaulting and killing their spouses and children more often.

People with Lyme disease alone usually don’t go to these extremes. However, they may be irritable and prone to sudden rages. Young people are the most likely to act out, so many straight-A kids whose grades suddenly start to slip. Then they rebel against the family and start fighting with their peers. They can also turn their rage against themselves. “Feeling suicidal comes in waves and these reactions are very hard to predict. However, these kids generally improve after being treated with antibiotics.”

Lyme disease on Marriages-Losing Control of Life

When Lyme disease goes undiagnosed or isn’t treated long enough it can reined economy of a business enterprise or an individual hence the pronouncement of bankruptcy of businesses and destruction of whole careers.

Recently a chief executive officer (CEO) of an insurance company was diagnosed with Lyme disease and given antibiotics but he over looked the medication and didn’t take them long enough. Months later, his symptoms returned with a vengeance. He had ghoulish nightmares and woke up drenched. At work, he felt anxious and couldn’t concentrate. Eventually he forgot everything he’d learned about insurance. When he neglected to send in a disability payment on his own policy, the company denied his claim. “This man lost tens of thousands of dollars that would have helped him through his illness.” “In the end, he had to sell his building and disband his business.”

People with Lyme disease often have trouble keeping up with ordinary tasks—one Connecticut housewife walked into the library, dumped her dry cleaning on the counter, and waited with increasing irritation for an attendant to help her. Finally a friend walked up and asked, “Don’t you know where you are?”

Lyme disease can also affect the part of the brain that deals with signs and symbols—making it hard to read maps or drive from place to place. A real estate agent with Lyme disease stopped at a traffic light. When the signal turned green she didn’t move. An angry motorist yelled, “What’s the matter with you. Why can’t you go on the green?” The woman replied, “I’ve forgotten what green means.” It may sound funny but it isn’t.

Lyme produces a microedema, or swelling in the brain. This affects your ability to process information. It’s like finding out that there’s LSD in the punch, and you’re not sure what’s going to happen next or if you’re going to be in control of your own thoughts. Physicians say that these symptoms can be alleviated or reversed with antibiotics, but they again stress that Lyme disease must be diagnosed early and treated right away.

Lyme disease on Marriages-Treating Lyme disease

Most doctors prescribe three to four weeks of antibiotics for initial cases of Lyme disease. Yet according to the ILADS, this is not enough. The Lyme bacteria have a “cloaking device” that enables it to hide in the cells and body tissues. If it’s not completely eradicated, symptoms will recur and with great intensity. To avoid relapses, ILADS recommended six to eight weeks of antibiotics.

When Lyme disease moves into a chronic stage, it’s more likely to lead to neurological or psychiatric conditions. Chronic Lyme patients are harder to cure and may need to take antibiotics—orally or intravenously—for months as a time. In this case, ILADS recommends continuing treatment for at least six to eight weeks after all symptoms are resolved.

Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed and it’s costing our healthcare system untold millions of dollars. “No one is spared, neither young nor old and each individual can display a puzzling array of symptoms. This illness can have a wide-ranging effect on marriages, families and jobs.” We must therefore take all the necessary precautions to ensure safety when affected, but better still is to take preventive measures. At least this way we will be safe and well.

Lyme disease on Marriages-Its Effects

How common is addiction in healthcare

March 5, 2014

How common is addiction in healthcare-Addressing Specialties risks

As many as 10% of those in healthcare are battling addiction, professionals battling with drug addiction is seem extreme .

Physicians treated for addiction have recently become the focus of high quality, evidence based outcome research published in peer-reviewed journals. The results of this research indicate that the treatment of physicians is profoundly effective when properly executed. As a policy there are three important areas of addiction among healthcare and other licensed professionals, including issues related to stigma, the effective response to the problem of addiction among professionals, and the interrelation and integration of medical, legal, and sociological issues regarding addiction in this particular population.

Several factors are involved in the etiological differences of addiction as it manifests in the special population of healthcare and other licensed professionals.

First, one group of professionals (healthcare providers) have greater access to addictive drugs in their workplace, which can accelerate and complicate the onset and progression of the disease.

Secondly, healthcare professional training creates a level of comfort and an associated false sense of immunity to the dangers of drug use. Having technical knowledge about the pharmacology of drugs does not protect susceptible individuals from becoming addicted to such drugs and, in fact, may actually predispose susceptibility.

Thirdly, all healthcare and other licensed professionals with addictive illness face tremendous prejudice based on stigma and fear which make them hesitant to admit a problem or seek assistance. Lastly and importantly, as with other safety-sensitive occupations, healthcare and other licensed professionals with untreated, potentially impairing conditions have the potential to place the public at risk.

Many individuals and agencies play a role in the care and coordination of the addicted healthcare and other licensed professionals. For the purposes of this article, we have focused on four critical entities:

The population of healthcare and other licensed professionals with the disease of addiction.
The specialty treatment programs where these persons receive clinical care.
The various Physicians / Professionals Health Programs (PHPs) which provide continuing care monitoring and earned advocacy.
State-specific license agencies and other comparable regulatory agencies.

These entities, as defined, have an interrelated and often symbiotic role in both the successful rehabilitation and recovery of the addicted professional, and the safety and welfare of the public.

How common is addiction in healthcare-The Addicted Professional

The disease of addiction produces characteristic behaviors. The characteristics and circumstances of the patient who is, himself or herself, a professional are unique. These issues be considered and managed during treatment and post-treatment recovery. These policies address physician patients who are part of a professional cohort; but include other licensed professionals including, but not limited to, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, psychologists, commercial pilots, attorneys, law enforcement officials, as well as any cohort who provides a public service that could impact the public health, safety, and welfare. Each of these groups is unique in the perception of their disease, their experience of addiction-induced shame, and the necessary coping skills to ensure successful long-term recovery.

Some of these professional groups share strong similarities; however, each specific group should be treated by providers knowledgeable, skilled and experienced in understanding the distinctive educational background, psychological characteristics, work environment, professional culture, social factors, and specific licensure and regulatory agency processes related to each particular cohort of addiction treatment recipients.

How common is addiction in healthcare-Addiction Treatment Programs for Healthcare (ATPs)

Addiction Treatment Programs for healthcare and other licensed professionals specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of addictive and/or mental illnesses in healthcare and other licensed professionals. These clinical programs possess expertise in dealing with issues specific to these populations of ill individuals; some ATPs have expertise in one or more subjects of professionals. ATPs provide a multidisciplinary spectrum of therapeutic services, addressing the biologic, psychosocial, family, and spiritual components of these disease states.

One important element in specialized Addiction Treatment Programs is the presence of a cohort of like-professionals. This peer relating during treatment decreases the isolation and enhances the interdependent learning necessary for effective treatment. ATPs for professionals have extensive experience with and knowledge of the stress and triggers in the work and home environment specific to the professional cohort being treated. This information is used to focus the treatment on cohort-specific issues, encourages reintegration into a healthy home and work environment, and ultimately promotes a sustained successful recovery. The most comprehensive programs manage multiple psychiatric diseases, complex medical conditions, psychological co-morbidity along with a broad spectrum of addictive disorders.

Many facilities that treat addicted professionals provide comprehensive evaluation services as well. Some evaluation programs are organized as separate entities from ATPs, while others are integrated with treatment facilities. Evaluation centers must exhibit a proven track record in understanding the complex multifunctional and insidious nature of addiction among healthcare and other licensed professionals. They should utilize a multidisciplinary team of individuals with specific expertise in distinct but interrelated specialties.
How common is addiction in healthcare-Professionals Health Programs (PHPs)

A Professionals Health Program has mutually symbiotic dual roles of enhancing public safety and facilitating the successful rehabilitation and practice re-entry of healthcare and other licensed professionals with potentially impairing medical conditions. Professionals Health Programs (PHPs) provide a confidential conduit for ill professionals to access a comprehensive evaluation and any necessary subsequent treatment.

When a professional with a potentially impairing illness becomes involved with a Professionals Health Program (PHP) and no harm to the public has been identified, he or she is ideally enrolled in an alternative pathway to professional discipline. PHPs provide the availability of a non-disciplinary alternative with rehabilitation and accountability being emphasized, facilitated, and carefully documented over time. The PHPs continuous, skilled and documented monitoring of the professionals recovery status and associated earned advocacy further promotes the public safety.

PHPs are exceptionally distinct in their ability to provide early identification, intervention, and referral for evaluation and/or treatment. They also conduct three types of post-treatment monitoring: behavioral, chemical, and work-site evaluations. Their success is largely attributable to this tri-partite model of recovery monitoring. The intervention, referral and post-treatment monitoring services offered by PHP’s are generally conceptualized as being distinct from the clinical services offered by ATPs.

PHPs educate the medical community about addiction among professionals, the risks of addiction in professionals and the recognition of the subtle signs and symptoms of addiction in the workplace. Such education and prevention services further enhance public safety by encouraging earlier detection and referral to treatment when appropriate.
How common is addiction in healthcare-Regulatory Agencies (RAs)

These are agencies of state government charged with credentialing and granting licenses to professionals and assuring to the public at large that the conduct of the professional meets professional and statutory standards. State statutes mandate the regulation of selected professions to ensure the delivery of quality healthcare or other services necessary to the public health, safety, and welfare. They investigate the practice of licensees and have authority to address those who violate the state’s professional practice acts or comparable legislation. Their primary mission is to protect the public.

Addiction rehabilitation requires an understanding of the inter-organizational complexities along with associated expertise in the interrelated management of addicted professionals to the benefit of the public we serve. This understanding of addiction rehabilitation among professionals facilitates the interaction by and between Addiction Treatment Programs, Regulatory Agencies, and the Professionals Health Programs.

How common is addiction in healthcare-Addressing Specialties risks

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