The Problem of Substance Abuse

The toll exacted by chemical substance abuse on the American society and on individuals within the society in both social and economic contexts is both appalling and enormous. Governments in the United States commit an enormous amount of public resources ù financial, human, and physical ù to fighting the country's substance abuse problem. In spite of all of these efforts, and in the face of claims of great success by the Drug Enforcement Agency, however, the substance abuse problem appears to be intractable in the greater society (Kennedy, 2003).

Health professionals, although they daily witness the manifestations of chemical substance abuse in patients, are not immune to such behavior. When health professionals do engage in substance abuse, however, negative outcomes hold the potential to be more damaging than they may be in relation to other groups because of the enormous social responsibilities shouldered by health professionals (Booth, 2002).

This paper reviews the substance abuse problem by health professionals at a major American health care institution ù the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The principal objective of the review of the problem is to develop a recommended solution to the problem.

Extent and Character of the Substance Abuse Problem at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Chemical substance abuse poses particularly vexing problems for the workplace ù re

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olice-like control of ethical drugs, this successful program focused on detection of problem behavior and rigorous assurance that substance-abusing health professional received appropriate treatment as long as treatment was necessary to alter the abusing behaviors. A successful treatment program for substance-abusing physicians in Florida incorporated (a) detection, (b) counseling, (c) treatment, and (d) random testing (Mitka, 2001. The major difference between this program and the program described in the preceding paragraph is the incorporation of a random testing procedure. Such a procedure may be effective in the short-run; however, it might alienate more health professionals than it helps over the longer-term. Assessing the Solution Alternatives within the Context of the Organizational Problem In contemporary American society, the use of certain substances to modify mood or behavior under certain circumstances tends to be socially acceptable. Such use includes recreational drinking of alcohol, in which the majority of adult Americans participate. Problems for most people develop when maladaptive behavioral changes associated with the more or less regular use of psychoactive substances that affect the central nervous ap
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Approximate Word count = 3703
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)

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