ASAM names new president

Last week, Stephen M. Taylor, MD, MPH, DFAPA, DFASAM, began his two‐year term as president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). “As ASAM president, I'm committed to supporting our members as we work together to improve the health and well‐being of all people living with addiction, their families, and their communities,” said Taylor. “We are at a pivotal moment in addiction medicine, with a duty to advocate for the needs of our patients, champion high‐quality, evidence‐based addiction care, and protect vital programs that connect people to lifesaving addiction treatment services, including Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion.” Key advocacy initiatives include growing the addiction specialty workforce, according to ASAM. In addition, legislation which would allow ASAM physicians to prescribe and pharmacies to dispense methadone for opioid use disorder, is, permitting qualified practitioners to prescribe and pharmacies to dispense methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) is a top priority of ASAM, as is establishing Medicare coverage for evidence‐based residential addiction treatment programs, and preserving federal funding for Medicaid and Medicaid Expansion health care, including addiction treatment services. Previously, Taylor spent 16 years as the Medical Director of the Player Assistance and Anti‐Drug Program of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).