Authors

  1. Palacio, Carlos H. MD, FACS
  2. PharmD, Bianca Cruz BCPS
  3. Salazar, Mariselda RN
  4. Cano, Jose R. MD
  5. Ortega, Maria Alejandra RN
  6. Hovorka, John W. MD, FACS

Abstract

Background: Trauma is the leading cause of years of potential life lost in the United States. Alcohol and drug use is a significant contributing factor. In 2017, a Level II community trauma center was achieving less than 80% screening rate compliance utilizing blood alcohol level as a screening method for trauma patients. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the implementation of a screening, brief intervention, and a referral-to-treatment service program.

 

Methods: In 2018, the trauma program adopted structured interviews as a screening method for trauma patients. The injury prevention coordinator conducted structured interviews as a screening method for trauma patients who met inclusion criteria. High-risk patients were referred to the social worker, who conducted a brief evaluation with subsequent referral to treatment.

 

Results: One year after the implementation of a structured interview approach, 1,021 trauma patients met inclusion criteria for this retrospective evaluation. From 2017 to 2018, the program observed an 86% statistically significant increase in screening using the structured interview SBIRT program (p < .0001) compared with the prior alcohol-level screening approach.

 

Conclusions: On the basis of these data, a structured interview screening method demonstrated a significant improvement in screening compliance rates.