Drug addiction is a complex condition characterized by intense and, at times, uncontrollable drug craving, along with the desire to compulsively seek and use drugs that persists even in the face of devastating consequences. While the path to drug addiction begins with the voluntary act of taking drugs, over time, the ability of a person to choose not to do so becomes compromised and seeking and consuming the drug becomes compulsive. This behavior results largely from the effects of prolonged drug exposure on brain functioning. Addiction is a brain disease that affects multiple brain circuits, including those involved in reward and motivation, learning and memory and inhibitory control over behavior. Some individuals are more susceptible to becoming an addict, depending on genetic makeup, age of exposure to drugs, other environmental influences and the interplay of all these factors. Addiction is often more than just compulsive drug consumption and can have far reaching consequences. For example, drug abuse and addiction increase the risk of a person to have a variety of other mental and physical illnesses related to a drug abuse. People may suffer the toxic effects of the drugs themselves. Additionally, a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors may result from drug abuse and interfere with normal functioning within a family, the workplace and the community. Because drug abuse and addiction have so many dimensions and disrupt so many aspects of the life of an individual, treatment is not simple. Effective treatment programs typically incorporate many components, each directed to a particular aspect of the illness and its consequences. Addiction treatment must help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a lifestyle free of drugs and achieve productive functioning in the family, at work and in society. Because addiction is typically a chronic disease, people cannot simply stop using drugs for a few days and halt addiction. Most patients require long term or repeated episodes of care to achieve the ultimate goal of sustained abstinence and recovery of quality of life. Research and clinical practices demonstrate the value of continued care in treating addiction, with researchers studying a variety of approaches in both residential and community settings. The future holds new research results on the influence of genetics and environment on gene function and expression, which will herald the development of personalized treatment interventions. Clinicians will integrate this information with current evidence that supports the most effective drug abuse and addiction treatments and implementation.

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Health Care Provider

  A health care provider is an individual or an institution that provides preventive, curative, promotional or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to individuals, families or communities. An individual health care provider (also known as a health worker) may be a health care professional, an allied health professional, a community health worker, or another person trained and knowledgeable in medicine, nursing or other allied health professions, or public/community health. Institutions (also known as health facilities) include hospitals, clinics, primary care centers and other service delivery points. The practice of health professionals and operation of health care institutions is typically regulated by national or state/provincial authorities through appropriate regulatory bodies for purposes of quality assurance. Together, they form part of an overall health care system. A hospital is an institution for health care typically providing specialized treatment for inpatient (or overnight) stays. Some hospitals primarily admit patients suffering from a specific disease or affection, or are reserved for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting a specific age group. Others have a mandate that expands beyond offering dominantly curative and rehabilitative care services to include promotional, preventive and educational roles as part of a primary health care approach. Today, hospitals are usually funded by the state, health organizations (for profit or non-profit), by health insurances or by charities and by donations. Historically, however, they were often founded and funded by religious orders or charitable individuals and leaders. Hospitals are nowadays staffed by professionally trained doctors, nurses, paramedical clinicians, etc., whereas in history, this work was usually done by the founding religious orders or by volunteers. Health care practitioners includes physicians (including general practitioners and specialists), dentists, physician assistants, nurses (including advanced practice registered nurses), midwives, pharmacists, dietitians, therapists, psychologists, chiropractors, clinical officers, and phlebotomists. Therapist Include: physical therapists, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, audiologists, speech pathologists, optometrists, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, medical laboratory technicians, medical prosthetic technicians, radiographers, social workers, and a wide variety of other human resources trained to provide some type of health care service. They often work in hospitals, health care centers and other service delivery points, but also in academic training, research and administration. Some provide care and treatment services for patients in private homes. Many countries have a large number of community health workers who work outside of formal health care institutions. Managers of health care services, medical records and health information technicians, and other assistive personnel and support workers are also considered a vital part of health care teams. Medical nursing homes, including residential treatment centers and geriatric care facilities, are health care institutions which have accommodation facilities and which engage in providing short-term or long-term medical treatment of a general or specialized nature not performed by hospitals to inpatients with any of a wide variety of medical conditions. 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