Crouse aims to zero in on drug, alcohol abuse problems and help before it's too late

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Crouse Hospital wants to nip drug and drinking problems in the bud before they destroy peoples lives.

Crouse launched a random screening program earlier this year in its PromptCare urgent care center across the street from the Syracuse hospital. Its purpose is to identify patients at risk of developing serious substance abuse problems. Patients deemed to be at risk are offered on-the-spot counseling and/or referral to treatment.

We want to help you at that point when theres a chance to turn things around, before you get a bad needle or before you overdose, said Tom Murphy, a chemical dependency therapist who does the screenings.

The program is known as Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment SBIRT, for short. Developed in the late 1990s at Yale New Haven Hospital, its being replicated nationwide.

Research done by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows it can help motivate people with drug and/or drinking problems to change their habits.

A study done by that agency showed about 20 percent of people screened are at risk, 70 percent can be treated with a single brief intervention and the rest need follow-up services. It also found 74 percent of high-risk individuals reported lowering their drug or alcohol use after one or more treatment sessions, and nearly half reported stopping use.

Murphy said the screenings at Crouse are voluntary and few people refuse.

Most of the time people are incredibly open. When I open the door, all of a sudden people have a lot to say, he said. Chemical dependency is the last frontier in terms of things we need to get out of the closet.

During the first three months of the year, 123 of 364 patients screened at Crouse were determined to be at risk. Of those, 74 were referred to a follow-up service.

Murphy said he expected drinking problems to far surpass drug problems among patients screened. Instead, about 70 percent of people at risk are abusing drugs, especially prescription painkillers, he said.

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Crouse aims to zero in on drug, alcohol abuse problems and help before it's too late