This is a report on the New Mexico Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) project conducted over 5 years as part of a national initiative launched by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with the aim of increasing integration of substance use services and medical care. Throughout the state, 53,238…

The Baylor College of Medicine SBIRT Medical Residency Training Program is a multilevel project that trains residents and faculty in evidenced-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) methods for alcohol and substance use problems. This paper describes the training program and provides initial evaluation after the…

Because psychiatric illnesses and problematic alcohol use frequently co-occur and heavy alcohol use can exacerbate depression and anxiety, mental health clinicians should perform alcohol-use screenings. The aim of this study was to determine if psychiatric patients would be accepting of their mental health clinician screening them for heavy…

Comprehensive clinical competency curricula for hazardous drinking and substance use disorders (SUDs) exists for medical students, residents, and practicing health care providers. Evaluations of these curricula typically focus on learner attitudes and knowledge, although changes in clinical skills are of greater interest and utility. The authors…

A major barrier to actualizing the public health impact potential of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is the suboptimal development and implementation of evidence-based training curricula for healthcare providers. As part of a federal grant to develop and implement SBIRT training in medical residency programs, the…

Medical residents do not receive adequate training in screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol and other drug use disorders. The federally funded Pennsylvania SBIRT Medical and Residency Training program (SMaRT) is an evidence-based curriculum with goals of training residents in SBIRT knowledge and skills and…

This article describes the use of a brief needs assessment survey in the development of alcohol and drug screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) curricula in 2 health care settings in the San Francisco Bay Area. The samples included university medical center faculty (n = 27) and nonphysician community health and social…

Alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) is recommended for all primary care patients but is underutilized. This project trained 111 residents and faculty in 8 family medicine residencies to conduct SBI and implement SBI protocols in residency clinics, then assessed changes in self-reported importance and confidence in performing SBI and…

Rates of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for alcohol and drug use by physicians remain low, despite evidence of efficacy. Motivational enhancement therapy (MET) may be a promising means to help physicians resolve ambivalence about intervening with alcohol and drug users and take advantage of educational…

The research literature on screening and brief intervention (SBI) for unhealthy alcohol use is large and diverse. More than 50 clinical trials and 9 systematic reviews have been published on SBI in a range of healthcare settings, and via a variety of delivery approaches, in general practice, hospital wards, emergency departments, addiction…

About 40 years since the first controlled study, screening and brief intervention (SBI) are being disseminated into practice. But many unanswered questions remain. Studies in this special issue address what we know and don't know about alcohol and drug SBI, cost-effectiveness, patient preferences, education for clinicians, quality performance…

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is a comprehensive and integrated approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services through universal screening for persons with substance use disorders and those at risk. This paper describes research on the components of SBIRT conducted during the past 25 years,…

The problem use of alcohol causes over 100,000 deaths in the United States per year and has substantial negative impact on family structure, the economy and the criminal justice system. Screening and early treatment of individuals with problem use of alcohol by health professionals can significantly reduce mortality and morbidity. Students from…

Although progress has been made in developing a scientific basis for alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI), training packages are necessary for its widespread dissemination in primary care settings. This paper evaluates a training package developed for the Cutting Back[R] SBI program. Three groups of medical personnel were compared before…