BILL NUMBER:  S7530

 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 dependency.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Alcohol and substance abuse appears to be on the rise among women. The
May 2008 edition of the Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental 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 18 to 49 needed treatment 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
problems 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
chemical 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 disorder 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
providers access to educational materials that will assist them in
screening for addiction.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
New bill.

 FISCAL IMPACT :
Not yet determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.