Addiction Treatment Week Shines Light on Substance Use Disorders During Pandemic
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical professionals continue to face another health care challenge of helping individuals who suffer from substance use disorders.
Opioids and other addictive substances like illicit drugs, alcohol and nicotine, have remained a constant struggle and the pandemic has led to an increased risk for relapses for those suffering from addiction.

Dr. Manriquez and other faculty members at the U of A College of Medicine – Phoenix have been actively building awareness during this time and participating in Addiction Treatment Week, which takes place from Oct. 19-25. The one-week initiative promotes that addiction is a disease, evidence-based treatments are available and recovery is possible. The week also highlights the need for clinicians to enter the field of addiction medicine.
Although the pandemic has created challenges in providing care, Dr. Manriquez said that state and national responses to deregulate some of the requirements for communicating with patients via phone or virtually has helped clinicians continue to treat patients in addiction medicine. She added that she hopes these deregulations continue for patients in many sectors of medicine who have patients that are in rural areas or struggle with transportation.
“Access to care for substance use disorder has historically been challenging, but restrictions, secondary to COVID-19, add additional barriers to meeting patients where they are in recovery,” Dr. Manriquez said. “One very important tool has been the use of telehealth and virtual encounters. It has actually been positive in having patients attend their appointments and therapies.”

“If your loved one is suffering from addiction remember to show empathy and avoid blaming or shaming them,” Dr. Manriquez said. “Substance use disorders of any kind is a chronic relapsing disease. The sooner we approach it like we do diabetes or hypertension, which have chronic and relapsing potentials, the sooner we as a society can bring these individuals to good health.”
To reduce the stigma around addiction, Dr. Manriquez suggests that the community has self-awareness and to be supportive. “Treat all people how you would like to be treated and most importantly, do not dehumanize a person,” she said. “When we dehumanize individuals, it becomes easy to treat them as a number or a disease, not as the human they deserve to be treated as.”
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About the College
Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to advance its core missions in education, research, clinical care and service to communities across Arizona. The college’s strength lies in our collaborations and partnerships with clinical affiliates, community organizations and industry sponsors. With our primary affiliate, Banner Health, we are recognized as the premier academic medical center in Phoenix. As an anchor institution of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, the college is home to signature research programs in neurosciences, cardiopulmonary diseases, immunology, informatics and metabolism. These focus areas uniquely position us to drive biomedical research and bolster economic development in the region.
As an urban institution with strong roots in rural and tribal health, the college has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and matriculates 130 students each year. Greater than 60% of matriculating students are from Arizona and many continue training at our GME sponsored residency programs, ultimately pursuing local academic and community-based opportunities. While our traditional four-year program continues to thrive, we will launch our recently approved accelerated three-year medical student curriculum with exclusive focus on primary care. This program is designed to further enhance workforce retention needs across Arizona.
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