News Release - Major Report Finds Screening and Early Intervention Program Used in Diverse Health Care Settings Dramatically Reduces Illicit Drug Use among Patients Report found a 67.7 percent reduction in illicit drug use over a six month period among people receiving these services
The Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program can reduce illicit drug use among patients seeking medical care in a wide variety of health care settings such as hospitals, physician offices, and community clinics, a study finds.
SBIRT uses a variety of techniques to screen patients seeking medical health for signs of substance abuse. If a patient screens positive for a substance abuse problem immediate steps are taken to help the patient effectively deal with the problem before the patient’s health and well-being deteriorate.
The report in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that rates of illicit drug use dropped by 67.7 percent six months after patients using illicit drugs had received help through a SBIRT program. In addition, heavy alcohol use dropped by 38.6 percent. Illicit drug users receiving brief treatment or referral to specialty treatment also reported other quality of life improvements
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