TnSAM Chapter Monthly Meetings
Please contact Dr. Zotos or ASAM membership for dates and times.
A Zoom invitation will be sent to members upon request.
International Overdose Awareness Day
We are sharing the information below on behalf of our colleagues at the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
International Overdose Awareness Day is coming up August 31. To mark the date, the State of Tennessee and its community partners are holding trainings on overdose reversal. The medication known as naloxone (brand name Narcan) is an easy-to-use overdose...
A Message from the President: Daniel D Sumrok, MD, FAAFP, DFASAM, ABPM, ABAM
Greetings TNSAM members,
There has never been a more important or exciting time to bring your expertise, experience, and skills to the emerging field of Addiction Medicine. There are high expectations facing us as pioneers and innovators while a pandemic has isolated us from each other and as overdose deaths have soared in Tennessee and across the country.
It has...
Exciting Time For Addiction Medicine – Alexander Zotos, MD, FASAM
Greetings from TnSAM,
I hope everyone enjoys their summer and takes some time off for family, friends, and personal endeavors.
It is an exciting time for addiction medicine. More and more light is being shed on the opioid epidemic currently facing our communities. The tides are turning on the liberal use of opiates for “chronic pain.” Just recently, the President of the AMA, Steven Stack,...
Current Legislative Concerns
In response to current legislative concerns:
Dear all,
We have fended off a number of legislative issues and regulatory challenges in Tennessee over the last few years. Some brief background: 1) Tennessee physicians lead the nation in prescribing opiates, 143 prescriptions each year per 100 persons (compared with 60 in NY) despite TnSAM sponsoring REMS courses and other CME. 2) Tennessee has...