SBIRT

A new study suggests that having health coaches deliver a drug and alcohol screening program to Medicaid patients can save money, while significantly reducing inpatient hospital days. The program, known as Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), can help many people with risky or problem drinking and drug use, says study co-author Richard L. Brown, MD, MPH, Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

A new study finds pediatricians who participate in two to three brief training sessions designed to identify and treat young people with potential alcohol, substance use and mental health problems are much more likely to conduct brief interventions with patients deemed at risk.

Two new studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that brief counseling may not be effective in counteracting drug use. Previous research has shown brief interventions can help some problem drinkers, NPR reports.

Technology is the driving force behind the Treatment Research Institute’s latest project: implementing and evaluating Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in New York high schools later this year.

In "Keep it Moving: A Guide to Breaking Habits," two fictional characters have to resolve their own ambivalence about whether to make an effort to reduce or quit their alcohol and drug use. They model how to deal with stressors, temptations, obstacles and personal triggers that influence their habits, explains Dr. Adam Brooks of the Treatment Research Institute.

Foundations can play a vital role in battling the epidemic of opiate overdoses. In addition to funding, some foundations have the expertise to provide technical assistance and can bring together communities and policymakers to devise solutions to this devastating public health problem, says Ann Barnum of The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

Doctors and nurses should routinely screen their adult patients and pregnant women for alcohol misuse, and provide those engaged in risky or hazardous drinking with brief behavioral counseling, according to new recommendations from a national task force.

Nurses are key partners in implementing Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral for Treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol use disorders, but they face challenges in putting the program into practice, a new project suggests.

Doctors often miss alcohol problems in their patients who are not intoxicated at the time of their visit, a new study finds.

Arizona has received a $7.5 million federal grant to help primary care providers identify patients at risk for, or who have, underlying substance abuse problems that might otherwise go undetected and untreated.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has announced it is awarding more than $22 million in new funding to expand implementing screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment. This is an innovative approach to delivering early intervention and treatment services for people with substance use disorders and those at risk for developing them.

Many hospital patients are comfortable with having nurses deliver screening and brief intervention for alcohol, a new study suggests. According to the researchers, the findings indicate that nurses can be important partners in helping to screen for hazardous drinking.

Nurses have an important role in Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral for Treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol use disorders, according to the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA).