History & Research

History and Research

Addiction medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine was started in 1990 by Mark S. Gold, MD, distinguished professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry. Basic and clinical addiction research at the University of Florida’s McKnight Brain Institute (MBI) is groundbreaking in the areas of drug abuse, drug effects on the brain and individual behavior and addiction as a disease.

In the early ‘90s, UF addiction experts proposed the idea that anesthesiologists were over-represented among addict physicians due to factors common to addicts, but also because of second hand exposure. This exposure could occur from exposure to active drugs in the operating room and on surfaces or through skin absorption and breathing (despite surgical masks). This new hypothesis helped UF scientists focus their research on the special problems of physicians and other healthcare professionals in the hospital workplace. Many aspects of the FRC’s programs reflect past and ongoing work with physician addicts.

Scott Teitelbaum, MD, is the medical director of the Florida Recovery Center. He leads a group of talented University of Florida physicians who specialize in addiction medicine, pain, prescription medication abuse and alcoholism. The University of Florida and Shands teams offer comprehensive screenings, evaluation of patients with substance abuse disorders and treatment of patients of all ages. As the only academic, university or college-of-medicine-based programs in the state, FRC is the leading choice for the treatment of business and medical professionals struggling with drug or alcohol problems. The Florida Recovery Cener offers specialized recovery groups to focus on their unique needs.