Addressing Unhealthy Substance Use in Primary Care

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Medicine
• Addiction Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Unhealthy substance use significantly contributes to morbidity and mortality.
• Primary care settings encounter high prevalence of unhealthy substance use.
• Effective interventions are needed to address this public health issue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of strategies for addressing unhealthy substance use in primary care.
• To explore the integration of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) and substance use disorder treatment within primary care.
• To identify challenges and opportunities for treating various substance use disorders in primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• Review of implementation requirements for SBIRT, including leadership buy-in, planning, and training.
• Analysis of the effectiveness of primary care-based treatment models for opioid and alcohol use disorders.
• Identification of data gaps for treating other substance use disorders in primary care.

Main Results:

• Implementation of SBIRT necessitates practice leader support, strategic planning, and comprehensive staff training.
• Primary care-based treatment demonstrates effectiveness for opioid and alcohol use disorders.
• Further research is required to ascertain the benefits and methods for treating other substance use disorders in primary care.

Conclusions:

• SBIRT and integrated treatment models are crucial for addressing substance use in primary care.
• Primary care is a viable setting for treating certain substance use disorders, particularly opioid and alcohol use disorders.
• Continued research is essential to expand the scope and efficacy of primary care-based substance use disorder treatment.