Practice-Based Research to Improve Management of Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Virginia
The Department of Family and Community Medicine partnered with a research team from the Department of Family Medicine and Population Health at Virginia Commonwealth University on an initiative to evaluate the effectiveness of external practice support for improving the delivery of screening and management services for unhealthy alcohol use in the primary care setting. Results of this study were published on August 9 in JAMA Health Forum (read the article).
Over four years, the study team enrolled 76 primary care practices across Virginia who collectively screened nearly 115, 000 patients for unhealthy alcohol use. There was also evidence of improvements in practice-based counseling and medication interventions, in addition to referrals for further treatment. A secondary analysis of study data revealed that, although patients with physical and mental health conditions were significantly more likely to screen positive for unhealthy alcohol use, but were over 10% less likely to be screened.
John Epling, MD, MSEd served as a Regional Lead for the study and Michelle Rockwell, PhD served as Practice Facilitator. About 20 Carilion primary care practices participated in the project. The study was part of a national $18 million initiative sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
For more information on unhealthy alcohol use, see:
https://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/
For more information on screening and management for unhealthy alcohol use, see:
https://uauvirginia.squarespace.com/
For more information about the study, see:
JAMA Health Forum study: read the article
https://www.ahrq.gov/evidencenow/projects/alcohol/index.html
https://uauvirginia.squarespace.com/results
To learn more about Family & Community Medicine research visit our website: Family Medicine Research | Carilion Clinic