Author
George E. Woody
Other affiliations: Temple University, Cornell University, National Institute on Drug Abuse ...read more
Bio: George E. Woody is an academic researcher from University of Pennsylvania. The author has contributed to research in topics: Substance abuse & Methadone. The author has an hindex of 79, co-authored 323 publications receiving 23567 citations. Previous affiliations of George E. Woody include Temple University & Cornell University.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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TL;DR: The use of the ASI is suggested to match patients with treatments and to promote greater comparability of research findings, suggesting the treatment problems of patients are not necessarily related to the severity of their chemical abuse.
Abstract: The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) is a structured clinical interview developed to fill the need for a reliable, valid, and standardized diagnostic and evaluative instrument in the field of alcohol and drug abuse. The ASI may be administered by a technician in 20 to 30 minutes producing 10-point problem severity ratings in each of six areas commonly affected by addiction. Analyses of these problem severity ratings on 524 male veteran alcoholics and drug addicts showed them to be highly reliable and valid. Correlational analyses using the severity ratings indicated considerable independence between the problem areas, suggesting that the treatment problems of patients are not necessarily related to the severity of their chemical abuse. Cluster analyses using these ratings revealed the presence of six subgroups having distinctly different patterns of treatment problems. The authors suggest the use of the ASI to match patients with treatments and to promote greater comparability of research findings.
3,143 citations
TL;DR: Findings support the effectiveness and specificity of different substance abuse treatments, suggest methodologic reasons for the lack of similar findings in previous studies, and demonstrate the importance of psychiatric factors in substance abuse treatment.
Abstract: Male alcoholics (n = 460) and drug addicts (n = 282) were evaluated at six-month follow-up after treatment in six rehabilitation programs. Initial analyses of the unstratified samples showed significant patient improvement, but no evidence of differential effectiveness from different treatments or from "matching" patients to treatments. The two samples were then divided into groups based on the number, duration, and intensity of their psychiatric symptoms at admission, ie, their overall "psychiatric severity." Patients with low psychiatric severity improved in every treatment program. Patients with high psychiatric severity showed virtually no improvement in any treatment. Patients with midrange psychiatric severity (60% of the samples) showed outcome differences from different treatments and especially from specific patient-program matches. These findings support the effectiveness and specificity of different substance abuse treatments, suggest methodologic reasons for the lack of similar findings in previous studies, and demonstrate the importance of psychiatric factors in substance abuse treatment.
823 citations
TL;DR: The addition of basic counseling was associated with major increases in efficacy; and the addition of on-site professional services was even more effective.
Abstract: Objective. To examine whether the addition of counseling, medical care, and psychosocial services improves the efficacy of methadone hydrochloride therapy in the rehabilitation of opiate-dependent ...
792 citations
TL;DR: This study examined the relatively unexplored contribution of the therapist's performance in determining outcomes of treatment and foundound differences were discovered in the therapists' success with the patients in their case loads.
Abstract: • This study examined the relatively unexplored contribution of the therapist's performance in determining outcomes of treatment. Nine therapists were studied: three performed supportive-expressive psychotherapy; three, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy; and three, drug counseling. Profound differences were discovered in the therapists' success with the patients in their case loads. Four potential determinants of these differences were explored: (1) patient factors; (2) therapist factors; (3) patient-therapist relationship factors; and (4) therapy factors. Results showed that (1) patient characteristics within each case load (after random assignments) were similar and disclosed no differences that would have explained the differences in success; (2) therapist's personal qualities were correlated with outcomes but not significantly (meanr=.32); (3) an early-in-treatment measure of the patienttherapist relationship, the Helping Alliance Questionnaire, yielded significant correlations with outcomes (meanr=.65); (4) among the therapy techniques, "purity" provided significant correlations with outcomes (meanr=.44), both across therapists and within each therapist's case load. The three therapist-related factors were moderately associated with each other.
748 citations
TL;DR: Opiate dependence is a brain-related medical disorder that can be effectively treated with significant benefits for the patient and society, and society must make a commitment to offer effective treatment for opiate dependence to all who need it.
Abstract: Objective.— To provide clinicians, patients, and the general public with a responsible assessment of the effective approaches to treat opiate dependence. Participants.— A nonfederal, nonadvocate, 12-member panel representing the fields of psychology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, family medicine, drug abuse, epidemiology, and the public. In addition, 25 experts from these same fields presented data to the panel and a conference audience of 600. Presentations and discussions were divided into 3 phases over 21⁄2 days: (1) presentations by investigators working in the areas relevant to the consensus questions during a 2-day public session; (2) questions and statements from conference attendees during open discussion periods that are part of the public session; and (3) closed deliberations by the panel during the remainder of the second day and morning of a third day. The conference was organized and supported by the Office of Medical Applications of Research, National Institutes of Health. Evidence.— The literature was searched through MEDLINE and other National Library of Medicine and online databases from January 1994 through September 1997 and an extensive bibliography of 941 references was provided to the panel and the conference audience. Experts prepared abstracts for their presentations as speakers at the conference with relevant citations from the literature. Scientific evidence was given precedence over clinical anecdotal experience. Consensus Process.— The panel, answering predefined questions, developed its conclusions based on the scientific evidence presented in open forum and the scientific literature. The panel composed a draft statement that was read in its entirety and circulated to the experts and the audience for comment. Thereafter, the panel resolved conflicting recommendations and released a revised statement at the end of the conference. The panel finalized the revisions within a few weeks after the conference. The draft statement was made available on the World Wide Web immediately following its release at the conference and was updated with the panel’s final revisions. Conclusions.— Opiate dependence is a brain-related medical disorder that can be effectively treated with significant benefits for the patient and society, and society must make a commitment to offer effective treatment for opiate dependence to all who need it. All persons dependent on opiates should have access to methadone hydrochloride maintenance therapy under legal supervision, and the US Office of National Drug Control Policy and the US Department of Justice should take the necessary steps to implement this recommendation. There is a need for improved training for physicians and other health care professionals. Training to determine diagnosis and treatment of opiate dependence should also be improved in medical schools. The unnecessary regulations of methadone maintenance therapy and other long-acting opiate agonist treatment programs should be reduced, and coverage for these programs should be a required benefit in public and private insurance programs. JAMA. 1998;280:1936-1943 IN THE UNITED STATES, before 1914, it was relatively common for private physicians to treat patients dependent on opiates in their practices by prescribing narcotic medications. Although the passage of the Harrison Act did not prohibit the prescribing of a narcotic by a physician to treat an addicted patient, this practice was viewed as problematic by US Treasury officials charged with enforcing the law. Physicians who continued to prescribe were indicted and prosecuted. Because of withdrawal of treatment by physicians, various local governments and communities established formal morphine clinics for treating opiate addiction. These clinics were eventually closed when in 1920 the American Medical Association stated that there was unanimity that prescribing opiates to addicts for self-administration (ambulatory treatment) was not an acceptable medical practice. For the next 50 years, opiate addiction was basically managed in this country by the criminal justice system and the 2 federal
581 citations
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TL;DR: Comorbidity of addictive and severe mental disorders was highest in the prison population, most notably with antisocial personality, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorders.
Abstract: The prevalence of comorbid alcohol, other drug, and mental disorders in the US total community and institutional population was determined from 20 291 persons interviewed in the National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiologic Catchment Area Program. Estimated US population lifetime prevalence rates were 22.5% for any non—substance abuse mental disorder, 13.5% for alcohol dependence-abuse, and 6.1% for other drug dependence-abuse. Among those with a mental disorder, the odds ratio of having some addictive disorder was 2.7, with a lifetime prevalence of about 29% (including an overlapping 22% with an alcohol and 15% with another drug disorder). For those with either an alcohol or other drug disorder, the odds of having the other addictive disorder were seven times greater than in the rest of the population. Among those with an alcohol disorder, 37% had a comorbid mental disorder. The highest mental-addictive disorder comorbidity rate was found for those with drug (other than alcohol) disorders, among whom more than half (53%) were found to have a mental disorder with an odds ratio of 4.5. Individuals treated in specialty mental health and addictive disorder clinical settings have significantly higher odds of having comorbid disorders. Among the institutional settings, comorbidity of addictive and severe mental disorders was highest in the prison population, most notably with antisocial personality, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorders. (JAMA. 1990;264:2511-2518)
6,102 citations
TL;DR: These analyses show that smoking remains the leading cause of mortality in the United States, however, poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the lead cause of death.
Abstract: ContextModifiable behavioral risk factors are leading causes of mortality in
the United States. Quantifying these will provide insight into the effects
of recent trends and the implications of missed prevention opportunities.ObjectivesTo identify and quantify the leading causes of mortality in the United
States.DesignComprehensive MEDLINE search of English-language articles that identified
epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory studies linking risk behaviors and
mortality. The search was initially restricted to articles published during
or after 1990, but we later included relevant articles published in 1980 to
December 31, 2002. Prevalence and relative risk were identified during the
literature search. We used 2000 mortality data reported to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to identify the causes and number of deaths.
The estimates of cause of death were computed by multiplying estimates of
the cause-attributable fraction of preventable deaths with the total mortality
data.Main Outcome MeasuresActual causes of death.ResultsThe leading causes of death in 2000 were tobacco (435 000 deaths;
18.1% of total US deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity (400 000
deaths; 16.6%), and alcohol consumption (85 000 deaths; 3.5%). Other
actual causes of death were microbial agents (75 000), toxic agents (55 000),
motor vehicle crashes (43 000), incidents involving firearms (29 000),
sexual behaviors (20 000), and illicit use of drugs (17 000).ConclusionsThese analyses show that smoking remains the leading cause of mortality.
However, poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the
leading cause of death. These findings, along with escalating health care
costs and aging population, argue persuasively that the need to establish
a more preventive orientation in the US health care and public health systems
has become more urgent.
4,980 citations
TL;DR: These Guidelines were developed by the Panel* on Clinical Practices for Treatment of HIV Infection convened by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Abstract: SUMMARY The availability of an increasing number of antiretroviral agents and the rapid evolution of new information has introduced extraordinary complexity into the treatment of HIV-infected persons. In 1996, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation convened the Panel on Clinical Practices for the Treatment of HIV to develop guidelines for the clinical management of HIV-infected adults and adolescents. This report recommends that care should be supervised by an expert, and makes recommendations for laboratory monitoring including plasma HIV RNA, CD4 cell counts and HIV drug resistance testing. The report also provides guidelines for antiretroviral therapy, including when to start treatment, what drugs to initiate, when to change therapy, and therapeutic options when changing therapy. Special considerations are provided for adolescents and pregnant women. As with treatment of other chronic conditions, therapeutic decisions require a mutual understanding between the patient and the health care provider regarding the benefits and risks of treatment. Antiretroviral regimens are complex, have major side effects, pose difficulty with adherence, and carry serious potential consequences from the development of viral resistance due to non-adherence to the drug regimen or suboptimal levels of antiretroviral agents. Patient education and involvement in therapeutic
4,321 citations
TL;DR: The clinical and research uses of the ASI over the past 12 years are discussed, emphasizing some special circumstances that affect its administration.
4,045 citations