Wolters Kluwer Health and ASAM Release New Edition of The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine

PHILADELPHIA, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry, together with the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), a medical society representing over 3,100 addiction physicians and associated clinicians today introduced The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine, Fifth Edition, one of the most respected references on the science of addiction and its treatment.  Twenty years after its first publication, this text has become a "go to" source for physicians and other clinicians who treat addiction and co-occurring conditions, from specialists in addiction medicine, psychiatrists and social workers to pharmacists, to primary care clinicians, physicians and nurses.

There is a growing epidemic of addiction in America.  Addiction to heroin, for example, more than doubled in the U.S. compared to a decade ago, according to a 2012 survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  Between 2004 and 2012, the number of people suffering from addiction with prescription pain medication increased 50 percent from 1.4 million to 2.1 million.  According to another 2012 SAMHSA report, 23.1 million Americans aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem.  The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine is more important than ever to assure that patients in need of treatment receive it from up-to-date clinicians. 

"Principles of Addiction Medicine seeks to elucidate the principles behind addiction medicine by gathering the views of a broad group of experts and codifying them into a single book," said Richard K. Ries, Editor & Chief, The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine.  "ASAM is the world's largest addiction medicine organization and this book has its stamp of approval as representing the state-of-the-art of the field."

"We are very proud to have been selected as publisher by an organization as prestigious as ASAM," said Lisa McAllister, Vice-President and Publisher, Professional & Education, Wolters Kluwer Health.  "We are even more proud that our combined efforts on this title have created one of the most respected and widely used resources in addiction medicine today."

"Addictive disease, one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in our society, is finally becoming fully integrated with mainstream medicine. The ASAM Principles echoes this concept by providing the scientific basis for the disease and teaching clinicians an evidence-informed model to utilize in their practice of addiction medicine," said Stuart Gitlow, President, American Society of Addiction Medicine.  "This textbook has emerged as the definitive guide to the science and treatment of addictive illness among a diverse group of physicians, specialist, and clinicians."

There is tremendous growth in the field today and, according to Gitlow, updates to this edition bring it more in line with today's understanding of this chronic brain disease.  It is timely as well with a section devoted to the complex interrelations between the rise of addiction to prescription pain medications and the recent increase in number of heroin–related deaths.  Another new section focuses on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the military and how service people are becoming more susceptible to addiction.

The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine provides core knowledge by blending scientific principles underlying addiction with the practical essentials of clinical addiction medicine.  Many of the ASAM-associated contributors are affiliated with leading government agencies that study addiction and its science, such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. 

The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine, Fifth Edition, is available in a print edition that comes bundled with an eBook powered by Inkling™ — allowing purchaser to download it to tablets and smartphones together with many interactive multimedia features.  This eBook includes over 300 chapter review questions and offers customized navigation and a powerful, index-based search capability to provide quick results using iPad, iPhone, Android devices, or through a computer browser.

Published by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins (LWW), part of Wolters Kluwer Health, the print/eBook bundle is available immediately for $234.99 by visiting the LWW website.  Other eBook formats without the Inkling features are available for Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble NOOK, Apple iTunes and Google Play.  Wolters Kluwer Health also publishes the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of ASAM.  For more information, visit www.LWW.com.

Inkling™ is a trademark of Inkling Systems, Inc.

About Wolters Kluwer Health
Wolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Serving more than 150 countries worldwide, clinicians rely on Wolters Kluwer Health's market leading information-enabled tools and software solutions throughout their professional careers from training to research to practice. Major brands include Health Language^®, Lexicomp^®, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Medicom^®, Medi-Span^®, Medknow, Ovid^®, Pharmacy OneSource^®, ProVation^® Medical and UpToDate^®.

Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company. Wolters Kluwer had 2013 annual revenues of €3.6 billion (US$4.7 billion), employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Follow our official Twitter handle: @WKHealth.

About The American Society of Addiction Medicine
The American Society of Addiction Medicine is a national medical specialty society of over 3,100 physicians and associated health professionals. Its mission is to increase access to and improve the quality of addiction treatment, to educate physicians, and other health care providers and the public, to support research and prevention, to promote the appropriate role of the physician in the care of patients with addictive disorders, and to establish addiction medicine as a specialty recognized by professional organizations, governments, physicians, purchasers and consumers of health care services and the general public. ASAM was founded in 1954, and has had a seat in the American Medical Association House of Delegates since 1988.

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