Recently Dr. Richard Miles, a family medicine specialist in Russell Springs, gave the Cumberlands Workforce Development Board an overview of the current state of Substance Use Disorder in a presentation titled “SUD as a Chronic Brain Disease.” Dr. Miles offered a better understanding of addiction, its causes and most effective treatments to help mediate the issues of addiction in the workforce.
“Substance Use Disorder is a Chronic Medical Disease and from a public health perspective, it is mandatory that we as physicians and providers treat the disease,” says Miles. He urges employers to recalibrate their understanding of addiction in the workforce, stating “Addiction is a brain disorder, not a character disorder.”
