Use of an Electronic Clinical Reminder for Brief Alcohol Counseling is Associated with Resolution of Unhealthy Alcohol Use at Follow-Up Screening

Brief alcohol counseling is a foremost US prevention priority, but no health-care system has implemented it into routine care.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an electronic clinical reminder for brief alcohol counseling (“reminder”).

The specific aims were to (1) determine the prevalence of use of the reminder and (2) evaluate whether use of the reminder was associated with resolution of unhealthy alcohol use at follow-up screening.

Among 4,198 participants who screened positive for unhealthy alcohol use, 71% had use of the alcohol counseling clinical reminder documented in their medical records. Adjusted proportions of patients who resolved unhealthy alcohol use were 31% (95% CI 30–33%) and 28% (95% CI 25–30%), respectively, for patients with and without reminder use (p-value = 0.031).

The brief alcohol counseling clinical reminder was used for a majority of patients with unhealthy alcohol use and associated with a moderate decrease in drinking at follow-up.

Read Full Abstract

Request Reprint E-Mail: emily.williams3@va.gov

________________________________________