Chicago, IL, March 13, 2024: The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) is proud to join the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the American Board of Medical Specialties, and many other organizations in support of the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act of 2024.

The Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act, which has gained bipartisan support, would provide much-needed funding to create 1,000 new graduate medical education positions over five years in accredited programs in Addiction Medicine, Addiction Psychiatry, and Pain Medicine. As the United States faces both record numbers of drug overdose deaths and a severe physician shortage, this legislation is a significant step towards expanding the ranks of physicians caring for Americans suffering from substance use disorder.

“The Substance Use Disorder Workforce Act of 2024 would offer vital funding to train physicians, including Addiction Medicine specialists, whose expertise is imperative in the fight against the current opioid epidemic,” said Wendy E. Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, FACPM.  “The ABPM fully supports the work of AAMC and the Graduate Medical Education Advocacy Coalition as they advocate for this important legislation.”

The ABPM is a Member Board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Founded in 1948, ABPM works with the ABMS in the development of standards for the ongoing assessment and certification of over 12,000 physicians certified by the ABPM in the specialties of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, and in the subspecialties of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine.