Unhealthy Alcohol Use Tools & Resources

Presents strategies for using virtual methods for practice facilitation and addressing common challenges, including hybrid participation, collaboration platforms, and assisting with technology

Review of findings on efficacy of using telehealth for treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) including alcohol use disorder, suggesting limited evidence to date about telehealth compared to in-person care for SUDs

Analyzes telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how telehealth has improved access to mental health and substance use services

Review of the literature related to the use of telehealth services in primary care and challenges experienced with implementation

Introduces framework for integrating behavioral health in primary care, with information to help support payers, providers, and improved outcomes for patients

Explores the use of technology to facilitate behavioral health and primary care integration with a focus on (1) screening for behavioral health issues, (2) clinician documentation, and (3) sharing data among clinicians, patients, and authorized parties. Details action-oriented recommendations and strategies for safe use of health IT for stakeholders and policymakers seeking to advance efforts to integrate behavioral health with primary care

Online resource that consists of 14 interconnected articles covering the basics of what every healthcare professional needs to know about alcohol. Articles address: foundational knowledge for understanding alcohol-related problems, clinical impacts of alcohol; and prevention and treatment strategies; free continuing medical education credits available

Describes the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) initiative to improve primary care management of unhealthy alcohol use (UAU), and highlights needed changes in electronic health record systems to improve screening and counseling for UAU as well as meet the National Academies' digital health recommendation for information technology that best serves patients and care teams

Describes the process for adoption of telehealth for patient care inside Kaiser Permanente and Intermountain Healthcare, showing the benefits of telehealth in reducing expensive and unnecessary trips to hospitals, how it can make care safer and more efficient and address disparities in care, and discussing what is needed to help other health systems adopt this new technology