Statewide Hotline Debuted This Month
Saturday, July 28th, 2018 -- 6:57 AM
A statewide hotline to help doctors treat patients with substance abuse problems debuted this month, the latest initiative aimed at addressing the opioid crisis and believed to be the first of its kind in the country.The UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, in conjunction with UW Health, debuted the UW Addiction Consultation Hotline earlier this month. The hotline’s first call came in mid-July. Statewide, physicians will have access to on-call experts in addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine. Randall Brown, a UW-Madison associate professor of family medicine and community health whose background is in addiction medicine, is leading the team of experts.
He said he has found a few other universities offering similar hotline-style models for other types of medical care consultation, but said he hasn’t found one focusing solely on substance abuse. The model will connect specialists concentrated in cities with primary care physicians scattered across the state.
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