Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31567600›Full record

ArticleJournal of addiction medicine

Referral to Treatment After Positive Screens for Unhealthy Drug Use in an Outpatient Veterans Administration Setting.

Dominic Hodgkin, Wenwu Gao, Mary Jo Larson, Charles E Drebing, Elizabeth L Merrick, Marianne Pugatch, Constance M Horgan, Galina Zolotusky, Nancy M Petry, Richard Saitz

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of addiction medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact, top 84% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Dominic HodgkinInstitute for Behavioral Health, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA (DH, MJL, ELM, MP, CMH, GZ); Mental Health Service, Edith Nourse Rogers VA Memorial Hospital, Bedford, MA (WG, CED); VA Boston Healthcare System, Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston, MA (MP); University of Connecticut School of Medicine, CT (NMP); Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MS (RS); Clinical Addiction Research and Education (CARE) Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA (RS).
Wenwu Gao
Mary Jo Larson
Charles E Drebing
Elizabeth L Merrick
Marianne Pugatch
Constance M Horgan
Galina Zolotusky
Nancy M Petry
Richard Saitz
Committee for Economic Development · US

Funding

Research Support CoreP30DA035772 · NIDA · BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY · PI Haiden A Huskamp, SHARON REIF · 2015 to 2026
$11.3M
Incentives in Public Addiction Treatment: Testing Design and Enhancing ImpactR01DA033402 · NIDA · BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY · PI REIF, SHARON · 2012 to 2016
$2.2M
Enhancing Early-Phase Care for Primary Care Patients with Unhealthy Substance UseR21DA032039 · NIDA · BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY · PI HODGKIN, DOMINIC · 2012 to 2013
$405k
Social and Community Reintegration Research (SoCRR)I50RX001873 · VA · EDITH NOURSE ROGERS MEMORIAL VETERANS HOSPITAL · PI QUIGLEY, KAREN S. · 2015 to 2019
–
NIDA NIH HHS P30 DA035772NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA033402NIDA NIH HHS R21 DA032039RRD VA I50 RX001873
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo measure the rates and predictors of clinician recommendation for follow-up after a positive screen for unhealthy drug use, in a context of mandatory routine screening. To measure response to clinician recommendations and identification of new drug use diagnoses.

methodsData are from a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center that introduced mandatory routine screening for unhealthy drug use in outpatient primary care and mental health settings, using a validated single question. This study analyzed VHA electronic health records data for patients who screened positive for unhealthy drug use (n = 570) and estimated logistic regression models to identify the predictors of receiving a recommendation for any follow-up and for specialty substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Bivariate tests were used for other analyses.

resultsAmong patients who screened positive for unhealthy drug use, 66% received no recommendation to return to primary care or another setting from the screening clinician. Further, among the 23% of patients who received a recommendation to visit specialty SUD treatment, only 25% completed the visit within 60 days. Six percent of all positive screens both received a referral to specialty SUD treatment and acted upon it.

conclusionsIn the context of mandatory drug use screening using a single item, rates of clinician action and patient receipt of care appeared low. Improved follow-up will require health systems to provide more supports for clinicians and patients at each of the stages from positive screen to attending the follow-up appointment.

Indexed as

Referral and ConsultationVeteransAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedOutpatientsSubstance-Related DisordersUnited StatesVeterans Health ServicesYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID31567600
PMCPMC7075731
OpenAlexW2978535358

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.