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Dr. Fingerhood Excited to Bring Back ASAM鈥檚 State of the Art Course
ASAM’s State of the Art Course will take place October 17-18, 2024, at The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront.
The eight session course provides quick, focused updates on advanced-level research in addiction medicine. The fast-paced, interactive program will highlight important, new scientific breakthroughs in preventing, diagnosing, and treating addiction. Attendees will also have opportunities for networking with thought leaders and colleagues.
“Each presentation is no more than 15 to 20 minutes,” said Michael Fingerhood, MD, FACP, DFASAM, Chair of ASAM’s Medical Education Council. “They’re meant to be very focused and keep people's attention— even if the topic is outside someone’s area of expertise.”
Dr. Fingerhood, an associate professor of medicine and public health at Johns Hopkins University and chief of the Division of Addiction Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, chaired the ASAM Annual Conference Program Planning Committee from 2014-2020.
After chairing the ASAM Annual Conference for six years, he said he enjoys the change of pace and focus that the State of the Art Course provides, which covers a variety of substances and topics.
“This course is designed for people who are currently practicing addiction medicine and applies to treatment in a variety of settings,” Dr. Fingerhood said. “There are eight sessions covering a broad spectrum of hot topics within addiction; there’s also an additional federal agency session.”
During the federal agency session, representatives from NIDA, NIAAA and SAMHSA will join an ASAM representative to share new and exciting developments with attendees.
Course offerings will cover initiation and discontinuation of treatment; comorbidities; maintaining recovery; innovations in technology; alcohol; nicotine; cannabis; and stimulants. Most of the sessions include four presentations.
“One of the interesting topics is recovery,” Dr. Fingerhood said. “What exactly is recovery? Is there such a thing as non-abstinent recovery? That's a big topic.”
The hope, he added, is that attendees will be able to take what they’ve learned from the digestible sessions and implement that into their practice.
Dr. Fingerhood strongly encourages those working in addiction medicine to consider attending the course.
To view the full schedule or to register for the ASAM’s 2024 State of the Art Course, please visit