The National Institute upon Alcohol...

The National Institute upon Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has released a recent guide to help physicians identify and care for patients with heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders. Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician's Guide provides a research-based approach to alcohol screening and brief interventions.It updates earlier NIAAA guidelines, which used a lengthier screening proces In the of recent origin guide, alcohol screening is simplified to a single question about heavy drinking days. If a patient drinks heavily (i.e., five or more drinks through day for men, or four or more for women) the guide exhibits physicians how to assess for symptoms of alcohol abuse or support It provides an optional written screening tool in English and Spanish, patient education charts about U adult drinking patterns and alcohol make easy in different beverage types and serving sizes, a novel section about prescribing medications for alcohol stay new forms for recording patient baseline and progres notes, and resources for making referrals to treatment and support assemblages The guide is available online at no charge at http://www.niaaa.nih.gov. Printed copies, with bear guides, can be ordered at the same Web site or by dint of calling the NIAAA at 301-443-3860

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

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