Stop shaming those with addiction

He was younger than I was — still in his twenties — but the patient had already had his chest opened twice. Deadly bloodstream infections contracted from sharing needles had destroyed his heart valves on two separate occasions. And now six months out from his most recent operation, he was back with fever and chills: ominous signs of another infection. That was years ago. The opioid epidemic hadn’t yet been declared a public health emergency. I had just begun my training in cardiology, and he was the first such patient that I had ever taken care of. In the ensuing years, there would be many more like him: patients with endocarditis, a potentially fatal infection of the heart muscle and valves, and one of the most feared complications of using intravenous drugs. Nowadays, of course, stories like his are everywhere. Just look through some of the headlines in The New York Times over the past year. You’ll see descriptions of “Addicts in Thrall to Opioids,” and pieces about “The Lawyer, the Addict” and “An Addict” who “Dies in a School Restroom.” Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Emergency Medicine Primary Care Source Type: blogs