The Moscow Research and Practical Centre for Narcology started its history as Moscow Research and Practical Centre for Prevention of Drug Addictions that was set up in 1998 in accordance with decision of the Moscow government and the order of the Moscow Department of Public Health. Later, for the purposes of improvement of organization and provision of narcological care and in accordance with decision of the Moscow government of 2004 and the order of the Department of Public Health of 2005, the Moscow Research and Practical Centre for Prevention of Drug Addictions was reorganized into the Moscow Research and Practical Centre for Narcology. Nowadays, the staff of the Centre exceeds 400 workers (including psychiatrists, psychiatrists-addictionologists, other medical specialists, psychologists, specialists on social work etc.) and has a number of professionals with scientific degrees i.e. 8 doctors of science, 4 professors and 80 candidates of science. The Centre is the head narcological facility of the Moscow Department of Public Health.
The principal direction of the Centre’s work is development of unified and continuous system of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of narcological disorders as well as development of new technologies in these spheres.
In 2003, the workers of the Centre developed the first in the Russian Federation standards for organization of narcological care, in which they described the technology of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation within framework of successive stages that formed one single process. This technology happens to be the leading one in modern narcology and it is implemented in the clinic of the Centre.
The Centre has a research block, which is busy with development of treatment and rehabilitation programs and technologies for the purposes of improvement of treatment and rehabilitation in the field of narcology, and introduction of results of research in clinical practice of respective Moscow facilities. The workers of the Centre developed the first in Russia ‘Unified Concept for Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Addiction in the Family, at Workplace and in Educational Facilities of Moscow’.
Since 2003, the Centre has a 24-hour hotline on narcological issues: +7 (495) 709-64-04. The Centre runs a number of programs aimed at prevention of alcohol and drug addiction at workplace and in educational facilities, which has been approved by the Moscow government.
The researchers of the Centre investigate clinical characteristics of alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, with the purpose to find optimal pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments. The Centre had developed the first in the Russian Federation rehabilitation program for narcological patients, and it is used in the clinic of the Centre.
In the laboratory of the Centre, the scientists became the pioneers in developing the method of immune-enzyme blood test that allows to detect drug use during previous six months. They are working at a new medication that would allow to block the toxic drug effects.
The clinic of the Moscow Research and Practical Centre for Narcology has a capacity of 656 beds and it provides all types of narcological care: from intensive care to rehabilitation and organization of ‘treatment guidance’ after discharge from the clinic.
