Helpers Behavioral Health

Dr. Bernstein opens the course, sharing information about the devastating consequences of commercial tobacco use in the behavioral health community, and about the Helpers Program for Behavioral Health, which your agency has decided to incorporate into its regular service flow. Dr. Muramoto addresses the role prescribers can play in helping persons who are interested in quitting tobacco. This portion of the course covers current medications that aid in stopping or reducing tobacco use including efficacy, dosing, side effects and precautions. This allows prescribers to tailor their advice on which cessation medications would be best suited to that member, and to link the benefits of quitting to the member’s personal health conditions. Because smoking alters the pharmacokinetics of many commonly used behavioral health medications, Dr. Muramoto describes strategies to monitor members for changes in behavioral health symptoms and medication side effects during a quit attempt. Completion of this 40-minute course and a passing score on the posttest earns a Certificate of Training for one hour of continuing education from the University of Arizona, College of Medicine.