10/27/2004
A growing number of emergency-room doctors are
screening patients for alcohol use, focusing
especially on people involved in car crashes,
the New York Times reported Oct. 27.
For the screening, emergency personnel ask
patients about their drinking behavior.
Doctors then have a conversation with patients
who said they had consumed alcohol prior to
their emergency-room visit.
A growing number of health experts are using
the emergency-room visit as a "teachable
moment" to identify people with alcohol
problems and direct them to resources where
they can receive the help they need.
"It's a prime opportunity to reach people
at risk," said Dr. Gail D'Onofrio, an
emergency-room physician at Yale-New Haven
Hospital in Connecticut. "Many of the
people are young adults, and they don't use
primary care, and they don't have
insurance."
Research indicates that nearly a quarter of
the people who come to an emergency room with
some kind of trauma are intoxicated.
"I can make the case that a two-minute
screen for alcohol-use disorder can help
doctors discover other medical problems
patients may be at risk for," said Dr.
Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a
former emergency-room doctor. "Not to
mention the risk of motor-vehicle injuries,
the risk of spousal abuse, for falls, for
other types of injuries."
Kraft & Associates
2777 Stemmons Freeway
Suite 1300
Dallas, Texas 75207
Dallas: (214) 999-9999
Fort Worth: (817) 999-9999
Toll Free: (800) 989-9999
FAX: (214) 637-2118
E-mail: info@kraftlaw.com
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