There is hope on the horizon for the relief of these scourges, but there are barriers to treatment and prevention implementation. Evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders include both pharmacologic and behavioral components. Despite the existence of these effective treatments, the lack of ability to reliably detect problematic substance use hinders clinical efforts to direct patients toward appropriate care. Additionally, after identification of the disorder and the initiation of treatment, clinicians often have difficulty monitoring the patient’s response to treatment and success in maintaining abstinence. This inability to detect relapse can lead to delays in making appropriate treatment adjustments to improve patient outcomes.
