Screening for alcohol abuse in primary care: current status and research needs

Alcohol dependence and abuse are current problems for about 10% of the American population. Patients with alcohol involvement are over-represented in primary care settings. However, a number of these patients may not be detected as being alcohol abusing/dependent by their physicians. Current alcohol screening measures are reviewed. It is likely that a systematic combination of psychosocial self-report data and biomedical information can improve detection of alcohol-abusing patients. Future directions for primary care research include further development of psychosocial screening measures, determining common clinical presentations of alcohol-abusing patients, and evaluating the effectiveness of brief counseling and physician education.