Table 1.
Overall and specific use of the alcohol-counseling clinical reminder: Total and compared across groups with mild/ moderate and severe unhealthy alcohol use
| Variable | Total n (%) | Mild/ moderate n (%) | Severe n (%) | P |
| All intervention hallway patients who screened positive for unhealthy alcohol use (descriptive cohort) | (n = 2,640) | (n = 2,165) | (n = 475) | |
| Specific uses of the clinical reminder | ||||
| Assess prior treatment or AA attendancea | 301 (11) | 282(13) | 19(4) | <.001 |
| Brief intervention | 156(6) | 77(4) | 79(17) | <.001 |
| Referral to specialty care or treatment | 19(1) | 11(1) | 8(2) | .01 |
| Use of optional assessment toolsb | 3(0) | 2(0) | 1(0) | .49 |
| Alcohol use not addressed today | 25(1) | 23(1) | 2(0) | .19 |
| Any clinical-reminder use | 398(15) | 302 (14) | 96 (20) | <.01 |
| Intervention hallway patients who screenedpositive for unhealthy alcohol use and had any documented use of the clinical reminder | (n=398) | (n=302) | (n=96) | |
| Specific elements of brief intervention documented with the clinical reminder | ||||
| Advised to abstain | 99(25) | 42(14) | 57(59) | <.001 |
| Advised to drink less | 60(15) | 40(13) | 20(21) | .07 |
| Discussed alcohol-related medical problem | 52(13) | 27(9) | 25(26) | <.001 |
| Patient agreed to trial of abstinence | 11(3) | 7(2) | 4(4) | .34 |
| Patient agreed to limit drinking | 0(0) | 0(0) | 0(0) | n.a. |
| Any brief intervention | 156(39) | 77(26) | 79(2) | <.001 |
Notes: AA = Alcoholics Anonymous; N.A. = not applicable.
a
Reminder asked providers to specifically assess those with mild/ moderate unhealthy alcohol use for a history of prior treatment or AA attendance;
b
all optional assessment tools were documented at least one time except assessment of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria for alcohol-use disorders, which was never documented.