Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | 11:30am - 12:00pm
The pressure and uncertainty of the pandemic are strongly correlated to an increase in alcohol consumption. The pandemic’s toll on mental health plays a role, with people with anxiety and depression being more likely to report an increase in drinking.
Fortunately, primary care providers are well-positioned to have an impact in stemming this trend. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recommend that primary care providers screen all patients for alcohol use annually and provide brief preventive advice for those over 18 years of age who report possible unhealthy alcohol use.
The stigma surrounding unhealthy alcohol use can make it difficult for patients to seek help. And even when screening takes place, providers may find it difficult to broach this sensitive topic or offer treatment options. Additionally, both physicians and patients may be unaware of treatment options outside of traditional 12-step programs—with a recent NIH study finding only 1.6 percent of Americans with alcohol use disorder had been prescribed a medication to help them control their drinking.
To provide more understanding on what medications can be used in treating alcohol use disorder, Altarum’s MI-SPARC team will facilitate a 30-minute webinar with Dr. Katharine Bradley, an international expert on improving alcohol-related care in primary care, on February 23 from 11:30-12:00 pm ET. With content tailored for primary care providers in Michigan, the webinar will be 30 minutes long and will allow for open discussion. Register here.
Katharine Bradley, MD, MPH, is a primary care physician and researcher who has conducted research focused on improving alcohol-related care in primary care settings for over 25 years. She is a senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute as well as an affiliate professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her research focuses on developing and testing affordable and sustainable approaches to integrating effective care for unhealthy alcohol use into real-world primary care settings.
MI-SPARC is a free initiative that supports your practice in implementing behavioral health integration into your clinical workflows, focusing specifically on evidence-based approaches to alcohol-related care. The program includes screening for unhealthy alcohol use, offering brief preventive advice, and engaging patients with alcohol use disorders in shared decision-making to offer patient-centered evidence-based options, including medication treatment.
Ready to enroll? Questions? Please reach out to Rachelle May-Maki, Project Director, at MI-SPARC@altarum.org or call (734) 302-5658.