Candidate Performance Measures for Screening for, Assessing, and Treating Unhealthy Substance Use in Hospitals
Authors: Bertha K. Madras
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Letters4 January 2011Candidate Performance Measures for Screening for, Assessing, and Treating Unhealthy Substance Use in HospitalsBertha K. Madras, PhDBertha K. Madras, PhDFrom Harvard Medical School/New England Primate Research Center, Southborough, MA 01772.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-154-1-201101040-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Evidence-based screening and brief interventions (SBIs) and referral to treatment services are designed to assist a spectrum of unidentified substance users. More than 80 million people currently engage in unhealthy use or have a diagnosis of abuse or addiction (per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) (1). Lagging implementation of SBI (2) has catalyzed The Joint Commission to field-test performance measures for delivering alcohol SBI and treatment of alcohol or drug addiction to hospital patients (3). Saitz's perspective (4), that The Joint Commission advocacy is outpacing evidence-based practice, contains errors detrimental to this ...References1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2009. Accessed at www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k8nsduh/2k8Results.pdf on 21 October 2010. Google Scholar2. Kuehn BM. Despite benefit, physicians slow to offer brief advice on harmful alcohol use. JAMA. 2008;299:751-3. [PMID: 18285582] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Performance Measurement Initiatives: Screening and Treating Tobacco and Alcohol Use. Oakbrook Terrace, IL: The Joint Commission; 2010. Accessed at www.jointcommission.org/PerformanceMeasurement/PerformanceMeasurement/Screening+and+Treating+Tobacco+and+Alcohol+Use.htm on 27 July 2010. Google Scholar4. Saitz R. Candidate performance measures for screening for, assessing, and treating unhealthy substance use in hospitals: advocacy or evidence-based practice? Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:40-3. [PMID: 20621901] LinkGoogle Scholar5. Madras BK, Compton WM, Avula D, Stegbauer T, Stein JB, Clark HW. Screening, brief interventions, referral to treatment (SBIRT) for illicit drug and alcohol use at multiple healthcare sites: comparison at intake and 6 months later. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009;99:280-95. [PMID: 18929451] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Bertha K. Madras, PhDAffiliations: From Harvard Medical School/New England Primate Research Center, Southborough, MA 01772.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCandidate Performance Measures for Screening for, Assessing, and Treating Unhealthy Substance Use in Hospitals: Advocacy or Evidence-Based Practice? Richard Saitz Candidate Performance Measures for Screening for, Assessing, and Treating Unhealthy Substance Use in Hospitals Larry M. Gentilello and Eric Goplerud Candidate Performance Measures for Screening for, Assessing, and Treating Unhealthy Substance Use in Hospitals Richard Saitz Candidate Performance Measures for Screening for, Assessing, and Treating Unhealthy Substance Use in Hospitals Jerod M. Loeb , Ann E. Watt , and Nancy K. Lawler Metrics Cited byAlcohol brief intervention for hospitalized veterans with hazardous drinking: protocol for a 3-arm randomized controlled efficacy trialNew Developments in Brief Interventions to Treat Problem Drinking in Nonspecialty Health Care Settings 4 January 2011Volume 154, Issue 1Page: 72-73KeywordsAlcoholsDrug screeningDrugsEvidence based medicineHeroinMotivationPatient advocacyPopulation statisticsPrevention, policy, and public health ePublished: 4 January 2011 Issue Published: 4 January 2011 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2011 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...