New CME Course Addresses Prenatal Alcohol Use
Free Offering Supports Screening, Intervention, Referral
Oct. 5, 2023, News Staff — Family physicians who have been looking for ways to more effectively integrate the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) approach to reduce use of alcohol and other substances into their practices, especially during the prenatal period, now have a new tool in their toolbox.
Thanks to a recent financial assistance award from the CDC and HHS, the Academy has developed Addressing Prenatal Alcohol and Other Substance Use, an extensive online course that is free for members and allows participants to claim more than 20 CME credits.
The course is designed to guide family physicians and other health care professionals on best practices for implementing the SBIRT approach, and to address an issue of concern among clinicians who care for pregnant persons. A recent analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data found that between 2018 and 2020, nearly 14% of pregnant people ages 18 to 49 reported current drinking, and more than 5% reported binge drinking in the previous 30 days. Some health experts estimate that between 2% and 5% of U.S. schoolchildren may be affected by prenatal alcohol exposure, which may have adverse effects on development, behavior and learning.
Course Details
The course is comprised of two sessions and a performance improvement activity.
The Screening for Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis and Polysubstance Use session features a video presentation from Roger Zoorob, M.D., M.P.H., FAAFP, a professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Topics include prenatal substance use, polysubstance use in people of reproductive age, common evidence-based screening tools, barriers to screening, patient-friendly and uniform language, and the substance use continuum.
The Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment for Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis and Other Substance Use session also includes a video presentation from Zoorob, and addresses topics such as intervention techniques, clinical workflows for screening and brief interventions for alcohol use, motivational interviewing, billing codes and connections to community resources.
Both sessions are accompanied by presentation decks that attendees can view online or download and print for later use. The Brief Intervention session also provides links to the Academy’s Addressing Alcohol and Other Substance Use practice manual, an FASD United video on prenatal alcohol exposure resources and an audio file that describes how to use the AAFP’s Neighborhood Navigator, a tool that lets users connect with social services by ZIP code.
At the end of each session, participants complete a post-assessment quiz and have the option to fill out an online evaluation and submit quiz results to obtain CME credit.
Story Highlights
The remainder of the course consists of a performance improvement activity for clinicians to accomplish in their practices. The activity is comprised of three distinct stages (baseline assessment, intervention and evaluation). The baseline assessment and evaluation stages involve patient data collection using an instrument provided in the course, while the intervention stage involves the implementation of appropriate interventions to enhance the SBIRT approach using the AAFP’s Office Champions Quality Improvement Model.
Individuals who complete the Screening and Brief Intervention sessions can claim up to 1.00 and 0.75 Enduring Materials, Self-Study AAFP Prescribed credits, respectively. The performance improvement activity, meanwhile, is worth up to 20 Performance Improvement AAFP Prescribed credits, and may take clinicians several weeks to complete. Individuals must complete all three stages of the activity before they can claim any performance improvement CME credits. The AAFP has also designated the course for a maximum of 21.75 AMA PRA Category 1 credits.
Upon completion of the course, learners should be able to
- screen reproductive-age adults for alcohol and other substance use;
- provide the appropriate intervention or referral depending on the substances used;
- establish strategies for team roles, workflows and documentation;
- link patients with alcohol and substance use to community resources; and
- ensure that patient-friendly and uniform language is used for screening and interventions.
More Free Member Resources
The CME course is the latest step in an ongoing Academy effort to develop member resources on excessive use of alcohol and other substances.
The practice manual mentioned above was recently updated to include more detailed information on the SBIRT approach, along with recommendations on ways to properly identify, counsel and refer patients as needed, and a sample worksheet to help practices to plan and implement system-level changes.
The AAFP also has published a training and resources sheet with links to online educational programs and resources for clinicians, patients and their families, and a guidance document to assist practices with billing and documenting SBIRT services.
These and other resources are available on the AAFP’s newly created Excessive Alcohol Use webpage.