Daybreak

Resources for Medical Providers

The Problem

41% of pediatricians fail to diagnose illegal drug abuse when presented with a classic description of a drug-abusing teenage patient.

Only a small percentage of physicians consider themselves “very prepared” to diagnose alcoholism (19.9%), illegal drug use (16.9%), and prescription drug abuse (30.2%).
(In sharp contrast, 82.8% feel “very prepared” to identify hypertension; 82.3%, diabetes; 44.1% depression.)

Less than a third of primary care physicians (32.1%) carefully screen for substance abuse.

Nearly 75% of patients say their primary care physician was not involved in their decision to seek treatment. Only 2% of Daybreak clients say their PCP was involved in their decision to seek treatment.

29.5% of patients said their physicians knew about their addiction and prescribed psychoactive drugs such as sedatives or Valium, which could cause additional problems.

There are 27,511 teens between 10-19 in Spokane, Washington.

Of those 2,650 are estimated to have severe alcohol problems.

27 % of adolescents report using some kind of drug in the past month. (2004 data)

33% of 10th-graders reported using marijuana in the previous year…. 20% within the last month. (2002 data)

While the use of most drugs by teenagers has decreased since 2001, the abuse of Oxycontin (http://www NULL.daybreakinfo NULL.org/?p=817)and other prescription painkillers (http://www NULL.daybreakinfo NULL.org/?p=817) had increased to 5% of 10th-graders in 2004 and has been rising steadily since that time.

Daybreak counselors have seen an alarming increase in accidental overdose deaths from prescription opiates over the last five years.

36% of Daybreak’s 620 teenagers visited the ER one or more times in the last year.

21% began using drugs or alcohol at age 11 or under.