Practice Involvement & Benefits

The Role of Primary Care

• Routine screening of all adult patients, using validated questions, can identify 2 categories of unhealthy alcohol use
• Risky drinking (without an alcohol use disorder)
• Alcohol use disorder (AUD)
• Brief counseling in primary care can help patients reduce risky alcohol consumption
• For those with AUD, screening and identification provides an opportunity for counseling and referral to treatment
• Medications (e.g. naltrexone, acamprosate) are also evidence-based options that can help those with AUD

Helping Your Practice Implement These Services

• Developing a systematic approach to screening and management, including electronic health record (EHR) optimization
• Providing organized summaries by region and county of available resources for people with unhealthy alcohol use
• Training sessions (virtual, as needed) for workflows, counseling skills and principles, and prescribing
• Helping with billing codes to allow reimbursement for provision of screening and counseling
• Paying money for completing surveys and collecting data

What We Are Asking of the Practices

• Work with practice facilitators to implement an evidence-based screening process
• Work with practice facilitators to implement a process for counseling or referring patients with unhealthy alcohol use
• Learn how and when to prescribe medications for AUD
• Respond to surveys about the process
• Collect data describing the implementation, such as
• Number and percent of patients screened
• Number and percent of patients with positive screens
• Number and percent of patients who received brief counseling
• Number and percent of patients prescribed medications for AUD
• Number and percent of patients referred for treatment