Counseling practices of primary-care physicians--North Carolina, 1991

Because 80% of the U.S. population visits a physician each year (1), physicians are an important source for health education. In particular, physicians have unique opportunities to influence and modify health-risk behaviors of their patients. During 1991, the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (DEHNR), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and CDC conducted a survey of nonmilitary primary-care physicians practicing in North Carolina regarding counseling and referral practices. This report summarizes results of this survey, including estimates of the proportion of primary-care physicians who counsel and/or refer for treatment patients who smoke, abuse drugs or alcohol, or have diet- or nutrition-related problems.