Assembly Bill A10083A

                                BILL NUMBER:A10083A

TITLE  OF BILL:  An act requiring the office of alcoholism and substance
abuse services to develop educational materials regarding screening  for
alcoholism and chemical dependency in women to health care providers

SUMMARY  OF PROVISIONS:  This bill would require the Commissioner of the
Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, in consultation  with
the  Commissioner  of  the  Department of Health, to provide and publish
educational materials for health  care  providers  regarding  screening,
assessment, and diagnosis of women for alcoholism and chemical dependen-
cy.

JUSTIFICATION:    Alcohol  and substance abuse appears to be on the rise
among women. The May 2008 edition of the Alcoholism: Clinical  &  Exper-
imental  Research journal published findings that show a 50% increase in
the number of women reporting alcohol abuse. According to the  Substance
Abuse  and  Mental  Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of
the U.S.  Department of Health and Human Services,  from  2004-2006;  an
annual  average  of 6.3 million women (9.4%) aged I8 to 49 needed treat-
ment for a substance use problem. Of the women aged 18  to  49  who  met
criteria  for needing substance use treatment, 84.2% neither received it
nor perceived the need for substance use treatment.

In a 2007  University  of  Minnesota  study  of  2,750  men  and  women,
published  in  the Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research journal,
              

researchers found that men and women  showed  some  key  differences  in
symptoms  of problem drinking. Traditionally, the rate of drinking prob-
lems and overt alcohol dependence has been higher among men than  women.
However, researchers have suggested that one reason could be a potential
"male slant" in the criteria used to diagnose these problems.

In  a recent Assembly roundtable discussion regarding alcohol and chemi-
cal dependency services available to women, held jointly by the Assembly
Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the Assembly  Task  Force  on
Women's  Issues,  and  attended by community providers and advocates, it
was discussed that many women are not diagnosed with an addiction disor-
der because health care providers often do not screen for alcoholism and
chemical dependency. Furthermore, it was discussed that when health care
providers do screen for addiction, the health  care  provider  typically
does  not know what questions to ask, or how to elicit a truthful answer
from the patient regarding alcohol  or  drug  use.  Data  confirms  that
health  care  providers  often do not screen for addiction. According to
the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, only 8.7 percent of  people
with  drinking  problems reported receiving any screening or advice from
their primary-care physician.

This bill promotes screenings by health care providers by giving provid-
ers access to educational materials that will assist them  in  screening
for addiction.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.

FISCAL IMPACT:  Not yet determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:; Immediately.