Drinking Patterns and Problems: A Comparison of Primary Care with the Emergency Room

A comparison is made of drinking patterns and problems of probability samples of noninjured patients drawn from the emergency room (ER) (n = 974) versus primary care clinics (n = 767) in the same metropolitan community. Those in the primary care sample were significantly less likely to report heavier drinking, consequences of drinking, alcohol dependence, and ever having treatment for an alcohol problem, controlling for demographic differences between the two sites. The data suggest that while primary care settings remain an important site for early identification and intervention for problem drinking, the ER may hold more potential for targeting prevention efforts in an era of reduced resources.