%0 Journal Article
%T The Basics of Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment in the Emergency Department
%A Vaca
%A Federico E
%A Winn
%A Diane
%J Western Journal of Emergency Medicine : Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health
%D 2007
%I UC Irvine Health School of Medicine.
%X Nearly eight million emergency department (ED) visits are attributed to alcohol every year in the United States. A substantial proportion is due to trauma. In 2005, 16,885 people were killed as a result of alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes. Patients with alcohol-use problems (AUPs) are not only more likely to drive after drinking but are also at greater risk for serious alcohol-related illness and injury. Emergency departments have an important and unique opportunity to identify these patients and intervene during the ¡°teachable moment¡± of an ED visit. The American College of Emergency Physicians, Emergency Nurses Association, American College of Surgeons-Committee on Trauma, American Public Health Association, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have identified Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) as a pivotal injury and illness-prevention strategy to improve the health and well-being of ED patients. We provide a general overview of the basis and need for integrating SBIRT into EDs. Models of SBIRT, as well as benefits and challenges to its implementation, are also discussed.
%K alcohol
%K impaired driving
%K injury
%K alcohol screening
%K brief intervention
%K emergency department
%U http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2m13v8k9