Improve Screening and Mitigate Diagnosis and Treatment Delays in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)

To assess possible areas of improvement, you will complete an assessment that asks to what extent you or your clinical setting:

• Uses a validated screening tool to identify patients with unhealthy alcohol use
• Incorporates screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT)
• Implements protocols and procedures for diagnosing AUD
• Introduces workflows to reduce delays between screening, diagnosis, and initiation of treatment
• Establishes multidisciplinary frameworks to coordinate care and referral for patients identified with AUD
• Connects patients with AUD to appropriate treatment
• Embeds referral pathways and clinical decision support tools within the electronic health record

You will receive a report card that summarizes your or your site’s performance relative to areas assessed. This serves as your baseline and guides development of your personalized action items.

Working with our expert faculty, we followed a Model for Improvement that outlines the aims of this program and its measures of success. We provide educational and practical interventions, but you can develop your own to meet your specific needs. Depending on your baseline assessment, interventions you can implement include:

• Enhanced training
• Communication strategies
• Personalized action items to track based on the nuanced needs of your site
• Patient education

Once you’ve finished the interventions and have introduced the recommended process changes, it’s time to put them to the test!

• Return to this digital QI portal after a minimum of 30 days
• Re-assess your action plan to see what improvements were realized
• Complete a personal reflection
• Get your certificate

We recommend you share these findings with key stakeholders in your organization to reflect on ongoing improvements and/or future opportunities.