Advocates

ADVOCATES-landing

WHY SBIRT

Risky substance use is a factor in all aspects of health and wellness. Often substance use is the missing piece in improving overall health and impacting—for the good and the bad—specific conditions. Screening everyone can identify substance use as a contributing factor to more than 70 medical conditions. SBIRT improves outcomes for chronic diseases, and can contribute to the wellness of your patients. With a renewed focus on prevention in healthcare, alcohol screening and brief intervention is a piece of the future of healthcare. Taking little time, SBIRT is an opportunity to improve the health of patients.

SBIRT WORKS

-Evidence-based approach to improving patients’ health and lives
-Screening for alcohol ranks fourth in preventing disease and saving costs—ahead of screening for hypertension, high cholesterol and cancers
-Proven to be particularly effective at motivating individuals to change their behavior
-The Affordable Care Act includes substance use disorders as “one of the ten elements of essential health benefits” stressing the cost benefit of SBIRT

Healthcare testimonials

“Screening and brief intervention improves our care and treatment outcomes. It is cost-effective and truly belongs in the primary care setting. The most important change fostered is a shift in the culture of the healthcare professionals—encouraging open and honest dialogue in the exam room, removing judgment and stigma, treating each individual as a whole person and integrating behavioral healthcare into the healthcare setting.” —Karen M. Wyatt, MD

Employers testimonials

“Years ago, helping professionals were taught the job was always the last to go—people could hide addictions at work for decades, and very little could be done about it. Today, the message is changing to one of prevention: C-SEAP is committed to substance use screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment. We know it works. ” —Randi C. Wood, LCSW, DCSW, CEAP, Director, Colorado State Employee Assistance Program

Insurers testimonials

“Prevention is a cost-saving strategy and we view alcohol screening as a part of that prevention effort. Improving the overall health of our customers is a win-win.”

Advocates testimonials

“We championed SBIRT early on because we saw the benefits—better health, cost savings, reduce healthcare usage. And prevention is one of our priorities and we see alcohol screening as a critical element of that prevention effort.”