Substance Abusers at Risk for Not Receiving Preventative Medical Services

New research from Boston Medical Center and Boston University suggests that unhealthy substance use may be a risk factor for individuals lacking appropriate health services. The findings have been published in BMJ Open and carefully identify unhealthy substance abuse as a major roadblock to proper health services including mammography screening and the influenza vaccination.

Considering the fact that cancer and influenza are two of the leading causes of death for individuals in the United States, this new research presents a major concern. It is routine screening procedures that make these kinds of illnesses preventable and potentially treatable. The problem facing U.S. citizens is that even those individuals who are, in fact, eligible to receive these preventative treatment and services, are unable to do so due to low-income, lack of insurance and being foreign-born. According to Karen Lasser, a primary care physician at Boston Medical Center, it is the unhealthy substance abusers who represent the gap in citizens who receive these kinds of services.

"Basically, we compared people who had unhealthy substance use and those who did not and we found that those who had unhealthy substance use didn't get mammograms, flu shots, or basic screening tests. We took into account other things that may affect their access to proper medical screenings and we found that all signs still pointed to unhealthy substance abuse," Lasser said.

Researchers in this study analyzed data from 4,804 women who are eligible for mammograms, 4,414 women who are eligible for Pap smears, 7,008 persons who are eligible for colorectal cancer screenings, and 7,7017 persons who are eligible for the influenza vaccine. All of these patients were screened to detect substance abuse. Nearly 10 percent of the patients who were eligible for one or more of these preventative services had a positive screening for unhealthy substance abuse. More of this data can be found here.

The research collected in these findings suggests that more needs to be done to promote the importance of basic medical screenings. If substance abusers represent the gap in individuals who receive adequate medical treatment, then perhaps the promotion should begin at the treatment facilities. Lasser agrees that incorporating primary care at detox and treatment centers would be a good start. "There's patients that get treatment for methadone so I think it would be a great approach if the facilities were to also give them flu shots or proper screenings."

Unfortunately, due to lack of funding at Boston Medical Center, there is little research being done presently to utilize the results from this study. "We did have a program in place to screen patients for substance abuse, but that funding just ended so, unfortunately, we are aware of the need but are at a standstill due to the lack of resources and funding," said Lasser.

It seems ironic that there are studies being done to isolate certain issues in Mass health care; but there is little being done to utilize these findings. Let's hope that things begin to change as the nation's healthcare overhaul takes effect in 2014.