Collaborative Advances in Global Addiction Medicine Reports: ISAM-GEN’s Milestones and Project Updates

Background
The ISAM Global Expert Network (ISAM-GEN), an initiative of ISAM, is dedicated to advancing addiction medicine by creating a robust global infrastructure for expert elicitation and consensus-building in various sub-disciplines. Expert input is crucial in scenarios where empirical data are scarce, issues are complex, or rapid synthesis is needed for decision-making and intervention formulation. By June 2024, ISAM-GEN had developed a comprehensive database of 443 experts from 93 countries, representing diverse fields within addiction science. This was achieved through snowball sampling, alongside contributions from 43 national and regional addiction societies and associations. The network provides a reliable platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, enabling timely and evidence-informed responses to emerging challenges in addiction science.

Objectives
This workshop will highlight ISAM-GEN’s structural achievements, milestones, and ongoing contributions to global addiction medicine. The session will feature detailed updates from the co-chairs of ISAM-GEN’s active working groups, each addressing critical areas within the field. These include Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and Psychosis (Dual Disorders); SUD and PTSD; Problematic Use of Internet (PUI); and Telemedicine for Medication-Assisted Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (TMOUD). Each presentation will provide insights into the design, progress, and preliminary findings of global surveys and projects spearheaded by these groups. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of ISAM-GEN’s role in addressing comorbid psychiatric disorders, emerging addictive behaviors, and novel therapeutic approaches, reinforcing its position as a pivotal platform for international collaboration in addiction medicine.