Talking With Your Older Patient: A Clinician's Handbook by National Institute of Aging - HTML preview

PLEASE NOTE: This is an HTML preview only and some elements such as links or page numbers may be incorrect.
Download the book in PDF, ePub, Kindle for a complete version.

Alcohol and Drug Information

not have a problem when younger.

(NCADI)

P.O. Box 2345

Because baby boomers have a higher

Rockville, MD 20847-2345

rate of lifetime substance abuse

1-800-729-6686 (toll-free)

than did their parents, the number

www.health.org

of people in this age group needing

NCADI, funded by the Substance Abuse and

treatment is likely to grow.

Mental Health Services Administration, is a

one-stop resource for information on substance

abuse prevention and addiction treatment.

talking about sensitive subjects 33

index-38_1.png

index-38_2.png

index-38_3.png

index-38_4.png

index-38_5.png

One approach you might try is to mention that some medical conditions can become more complicated as a result of alcohol and other drug use. Another point to make is that alcohol and other drugs can increase the side effects of medication, or even reduce the medicine’s effectiveness. From this starting point, you may fi nd it easier to talk about alcohol or other drug use.