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Silver HillHospitalNew York City • APRIL 2003FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS• 19ADDICTION PSYCHIATRY& PAIN MANAGEMENT FOCUSOF SILVER HILL SEMINARThe latest developments in AddictionPsychiatry, the use of painkillers and the managementof chronic pain, are the focus of theSpring Seminar at Silver Hill Hospital in NewCanaan, Conn. Featuring presentations by fiveprominent experts in their fields, the seminar isco-sponsored by the New York UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry, the AmericanAcademy of Addiction Psychiatry, and SilverHill.Marc Galanter, M.D., a Professor ofPsychiatry at New York University MedicalCenter, will present research on HealingThrough Social and Spiritual Affiliation. RogerWeiss, M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatryat Harvard Medical School, will discussSubstance Abuse and Mood Disorders. HenryR. Kranzler, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry atthe University of Connecticut Health Centerwill address Recent Developments inPharmacotherapy and Alcoholism. DualDiagnosis (the combination of a psychiatricand an addictive disorder) is the topic ofRichard Rosenthal, M.D., Chairman,Department of Psychiatry at St. Luke’sRoosevelt Hospital Center. David Haddox,M.D., Vice President, Health Policy, PurduePharma, L.P., will discuss The Interface of PainCan Cancer be Prevented?By CYNTHIA STEIN, M.D., M.P.H.Special to Education UpdateCan cancer be prevented?Yes. In fact, at the Harvard Center for CancerPrevention, we estimate that more than half ofall cancers in the US could be prevented. Eachand Addiction and describe the latest pharmaceuticaldevelopments in pain management.According to Dr. Richard Frances, Presidentand Medical Director of Silver Hill, “No groupof patients suffers more than those with bothaddiction and psychiatric problems, includingpain management. The Spring Seminar bringstogether five national experts in the dual diagnosisfield to discuss these pressing issues. Theevent is a complement to last year’s extremelywell received symposium in which a differentpanel of speakers addressed the same topic.”The presentations at Silver Hill will be publishedin a special supplement of the AmericanJournal on Addiction in July 2003, with anintroduction by Dr. Frances.Located at 208 Valley Road in New Canaan,Silver Hill Hospital is a nationally recognizedbehavioral health and substance abuse treatmentcenter, providing a full range of treatmentfor adults and adolescents. Included are inpatient,partial hospital, halfway houses and outpatientprograms.#For registration or further information, contactBridgette Guida, Community OutreachCoordinator at (203) 966-3561, extension2509.year over 1 million people in this country arediagnosed with some form of cancer, but thisnumber could be significantly reduced by basiclifestyle changes. There are some things, likeage and family history, that we can’t control.However, there are steps that everyone can taketo lower their risk of getting cancer:Center for Excellencein Psychiatric and Addiction Treatment• Adult & Adolescent Care• Alcohol & Drug Treatment• Eating Disorder Program• Inpatient & Outpatient Services• Transitional Living• Family ProgramTalk to Us, We Can Help.Silver Hill Hospital 208 Valley Road New Canaan, CT 06840(800) 899-4455 TDD: (203) 966-6515 www.silverhillhospital.comSERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER 70 YEARSA Discussion of the Hippocratic OathBy HERMAN ROSEN, M.D.“The Hippocratic Oath and Its Role InModern Medicine” was the topic of a recentconference under the auspices of the OnassisPublic Benefit Foundation in collaborationwith the Hellenic Medical Society of N.Y.Panelists were Admiral Susan Blumenthal,M.D., Assistant Surgeon General; Antonio M.Gotto, Jr., M.D., D.Phil., Dean of WeillMedical College of Cornell University, andEdmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., ProfessorEmeritus of Medicine and Medical Bioethics,Georgetown University. The oath, written bythe renowned Greek physician Hippocratesover 2,500 years ago, is sworn to by most graduatingmedical students. A modernized versionwas written in 1964 by Dr. Louis Lasagna, clinicalpharmacologist.Admiral Blumenthal spoke on the ancientoath’s implications for current public healthchallenges. The oath states, “What I hear in the“Your Partner inFirst Aid”(l-r) Drs. Blumenthal, Gotto and PellegrinoDon’t smoke, and avoid second-hand smoke.Smoking is the most preventable cause ofdeath in the US. It causes about 30% of all thecancer in this country, including cancers of thelung, mouth, larynx, esophagus, pancreas,cervix, kidney, and bladder. Smoking also leadsContinued on page 31www.by dezign products.com(847) 970-9050(847) 273-0547 Faxcourse of the treatment or…in regard to the lifeof men…I will keep to myself.” “This conceptis prescient,” Blumenthal said. The federalgovernment will soon implement secure safeguardsagainst the misuse and disclosure ofmedical records, in the new Health InsurancePortability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).Dr. Blumenthal stressed that prevention of diseaseis preferable to a cure. Most importantadvances in the past century are indeed basedon prevention—for example, eradication ofsmallpox and diphtheria. Hippocrates mandateddietetic measures for the benefit of the sick.Currently a good proportion of disease is relatedto nutrition if one includes alcoholism, starvation,and obesity. The serge in incidence ofdiabetes, even in youth, is related to obesity.The oath states to do no harm. The Institute ofMedicine has now recognized medical errors ascausing over 50,000 deaths per year. The FDAhas now proposed bar-coding of medication inhospital use to reduce this enormous toll.Dean Gotto spoke on “Professionalism andMedical Education: Modern Expressions of theHippocratic Oath.” He detailed the basic tenetsof the oath: education, empirical/nationalapproach, love of the sick, self-regulation, andconfidentiality. Gotto stressed the importance oflifetime learning to a physician, as informationbecomes obsolete and new information becomesavailable. He spoke of the legacy of Hippocratesat Weill Medical College, symbolized by a transplantedseedling from the plane tree at the Islandof Kos, said to have been planted by Hippocrates,who used to teach in its shade. The now adult treeat Weill Medical College is the site where medicalschool graduates annually take theHippocratic oath, administered by the Dean. Thetree is appropriately dedicated to Dr. GeorgePapanicolaou, a Greek physician who worked formany years at the New York Hospital-CornellMedical Center where he developed the “Pap”smear to detect uterine cancer.The third panelist, Dr. Pellegrino, focused oncriticisms directed at the oath and moral skepticismraised over the years. He responded tothese accusations, emphasizing the oath takenby your physician is for the patient’s protection.A physician must be loyal to his patientand not worry about society’s resources.Entering the medical profession should engendera life of service to others.Many guests, members of the diplomaticcorps and members of the Hellenic MedicalSociety attended the symposium. This societyhas its origins in a medical fraternity organizedby Dr. George Papanicolaou.#Dr. Herman Rosen is Clinical Professor ofMedicine at Weill Medical College of CornellUniversity.