Local and international addiction medicine experts will convene from tomorrow for the Medicine in Addiction Conference 2013 (MiA2013) – and there is still time to register.
MiA2013 is the leading conference for addiction medicine in Australia, and will this year be held at the SMC Conference and Function Centre, Sydney from Friday 15 March until Sunday 17 March.
Co-convened by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), and The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), MiA2013 will draw on the knowledge and expertise of leaders within the field providing thought-provoking content and latest evidence-based findings.
Commenting on the program, Dr Michael Aufgang, Chair of the RACGP National Faculty of Specific Interests (NFSI) Addiction Medicine Network said the line-up of speakers and wide selection of contemporary issues relevant to general practitioners to be covered during MiA2013 will challenge participants to view addicts and addiction differently.
“We are fortunate to have esteemed overseas and local colleagues Dr Henry Kranzler, Co-Director at the Centre for Studies of Addictions at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), and Professor Bernard Balleine, Director of the Behavioural Neuroscience and Addictive Disorders Laboratories in the Brain and Mind Research Institute of the University of Sydney, share with us their thoughts on medicine addiction from a global perspective,” said Dr Aufgang.
“Harms associated with alcohol and drugs continue to rise in Australia, and it is for that reason we need policy and practice responses that are based on the best available evidence,” said Professor Dan Lubman, Chair of the Section of Addiction Psychiatry at the RANZCP. “This conference offers an opportunity to hear from leaders in the field about the latest research findings and treatment approaches – from managing drug use during pregnancy to treating drug use in prisons, as well as the impact of drugs on the developing brain.”
Bringing together addiction medicine’s foremost experts provides the opportunity to review new research into addiction medicine and discuss some of the critical challenges facing the discipline, said Professor Paul Haber, President of the RACP Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine. “MiA2013 provides the opportunity to delve into some of the core issues relating to addiction, including treatment, the psychology of addiction and the impact.”
Other conference highlights include:
- Dora real time prescription monitoring process – breakthrough or white elephant panel discussion – Dr Adrian Reynolds, Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services, Statewide Clinical Director, Alcohol and Drug Service
- Drugs and the adolescent brain – Professor Dan Lubman, Director of Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre and Professor of Addiction Studies and Services at Monash University
- How to reduce risks on moving through the system – Professor Michael Farrell, Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at the University of New South Wales
- Abuse deterrent formulations of prescription drugs – Dr Richard Dart, physician specializing in emergency medicine and toxicology
- What’s new in opioid substitution treatment plenary –Associate Professor James Bell, physician specializing in Addiction Medicine
- Addressing smoking cessation in addicted and psychiatric populations workshop – Ms Sacha Filia, Research Fellow at the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre.
For more information about MiA2013 and to download the program, visit the MiA2013 website. If you have not yet registered there is still time to do so.
For media passes to the conference, please contact Kate White on 02 9256 9674.