Findings: Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) Office Champions Project

About the Alcohol SBI Project

Objective: Increase family physicians’ use of alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) as a routine part of care, decrease risky alcohol use among women of reproductive age, including any alcohol use by pregnant women, and improve health outcomes. 

Project Period: September 2018–September 2022

Funder: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Alcohol SBI Project Description

Fourteen family medicine practices participated in the Alcohol SBI Office Champions Project. They utilized the office champions model to increase alcohol SBI, with one physician and one non-physician (staff) champion representing each practice. Through orientation meetings, training sessions, an online education platform, and various educational resources, these champions were educated on alcohol SBI and prevention of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).

They used the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) method to increase alcohol SBI in their practices. Project interventions included:

• Permanent workflow changes
• Process changes
• Documentation standardization
• Uniform screening and brief interventions,
• Electronic health record (EHR) updates to capture and/or measure alcohol SBI.

Performance was evaluated via review of 50 random charts in each practice at three measurements: baseline, midpoint, and endpoint. In addition, a sustainability survey was conducted at the end of the project.

Alcohol BSI Project Participants

Staff Members (during overall project period): Julie Wood, MD, MPH; Pamela Carter-Smith, MPA; Melanie Bird, PhD; Natalia Loskutova, MD, PhD; Reshana Peterson, MPH; Natabhona Mabachi, PhD, MPH; Rajani Bharati, PhD, MPH

Partner Organizations

• Baylor College of Medicine
• University of Iowa Department of Family Medicine
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP)

Participating Practices

1. Center for Women’s Health: Primary Care, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
2. Eagle Physicians and Associates, Greensboro, NC
3. Fort Wayne Medical Education Program/Family Medicine Center, Fort Wayne, IN
4. Indian Health Board, Minneapolis, MN
5. Kittitas Valley Healthcare, Ellensburg, WA
6. The MetroHealth System, Cleveland, OH
7. Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, Grand Rapids, MI
8. Parkland Family Medicine Clinic/University of Texas Southwestern Department of Family Medicine, Dallas, TX
9. Penn State Health Medical Group, PA
10. St. Francis Family Medicine Residency Program, Wilmington, DE
11. Troutman Family Medicine, Troutman, NC
12. University of Virginia Family Medicine, Charlottesville, VA
13. VIM Care Clinic, Columbus, IN
14. Wynn Family Medicine, Fairfax, VA