In a typical busy family medicine practice, virtually any tool that can save time without sacrificing quality merits a closer look. A new clinical resource from the AAFP lets you minimize the time it takes to screen your patients for alcohol problems -- allowing you to focus your efforts on negotiating change with patients identified as at-risk drinkers.
Alcohol Toolkit Cuts Screening Time, Eases Follow-Up
By News Staff
7/19/2005
The Academy toolkit, "Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention in Family Medicine," was developed using materials adapted from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Designed to permit family physicians to integrate screening for risky drinking behaviors into routine patient visits in much the same way that many FPs now integrate hypertension screening, the toolkit includes printed sheets outlining a four-step approach:
- Step 1: Administer a one-question screening instrument.
- Step 2: Briefly assess the patient with a positive screen using the four-question CAGE instrument. (CAGE is a mnemonic for attempts to cut down on drinking, annoyance with criticisms about drinking, guilt about drinking, and using alcohol as an eye-opener.)
- Step 3: Advise the patient to either cut down on or abstain from drinking (depending on results of the CAGE and other clinical factors), gauge his or her readiness to change, and assist the patient in developing an action plan. This step may involve providing patient education materials or referral for further evaluation or treatment.
- Step 4: Arrange follow-up visits with the patient and monitor progress as you would for any chronic medical problem. For patients who need extra support, this step may require scheduling separate, focused follow-up appointments. Counseling or other referrals may be indicated, and it may be helpful to include a trusted friend or family member during follow-up visits.
The single two-part screening question is printed on a small laminated card contained in the kit as a handy, pocket-sized reminder. Other materials included in the kit are a rationale for screening and brief intervention in primary care, a comprehensive list of information and referral resources, reprints of AAFP policies and evidence-based clinical recommendations on alcohol and other substance abuse problems, reproducible patient education handouts in English and Spanish, and a sheet of stickers to aid in identifying patients who drink.
Copies of the toolkit are being sent to family medicine residencies and AAFP constituent chapters. To order a copy of the kit, call the AAFP Order Department at (800) 944-0000 and request item #1921. Although the toolkit itself is free, shipping and handling charges may apply. Production of the kit was funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Copies of the toolkit are being sent to family medicine residencies and AAFP constituent chapters. To order a copy of the kit, call the AAFP Order Department at (800) 944-0000 and request item #1921. Although the toolkit itself is free, shipping and handling charges may apply. Production of the kit was funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
