Tag - SBIRT

Improving Access to SBIRT

Improving Access to Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment in Primary Care for Adolescents: A Resource Center From the Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. (CHCS) Adolescence is often a period for risky behavior and experimentation with alcohol and drugs. An estimated 70 percent of high school students have tried alcohol and 49 percent of high school seniors have used an illegal drug at least once. As a population, adolescents are more vulnerable than adults are to addiction. Early identification of...

Texas Children’s Health Plan partners with Baylor College of Medicine to address and prevent opioid abuse in perinatal populations

Women of childbearing age have been disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic. Consequently, the rates of in utero drug exposure and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome have increased dramatically over the last decade.  In Texas, overdose is the leading cause of maternal death in the first postpartum year. To prevent and respond to these issues, faculty from Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Health Plan were recently awarded funding from the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s grant program entitled Combating Opioid...

Texas Children’s Health Plan reimburses substance use screening

SBIRT stands for Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment.  Texas Children’s Health Plan reimburses for SBIRT services for all patients 10 and older. Screening can be completed by physicians, registered nurses (RNs), advanced practice nurses (APRN), physician assistants (PA), psychologists, licensed clinical social workers (LCSW), licensed professional counselors (LPC), certified nurse midwives (CNM), outpatient hospitals, federally qualified health centers (FQHC), and rural health clinics. A recent survey of pediatricians found that only a minority of pediatricians used validated screening tools...

Enhance your adolescent care with SBIRT

It’s back-to-school season, a time when pediatrics offices are busy with well-child checks and sports physicals. Pediatricians are in an excellent position to educate adolescents about their health, including providing guidance about substance use. The AAP advises on universal substance use screening using SBIRT techniques for all adolescents. In lower-risk patients, they can prevent or delay the onset of use. For intermediate-risk patients, they can discourage ongoing use and reduce harm. And they can refer patients who have developed substance...

SBIRT: A validated practice to recognize teens who need help for substance abuse is a benefit of Texas Medicaid

A recent survey of pediatricians found that only a minority of pediatricians used validated screening tools for substance abuse screening, and most relied on clinical impressions. Studies have found that only one-third of adolescents excessively using alcohol were detected when pediatricians relied on clinical impressions. A revised policy statement and a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (see additional resources below) contain updated guidance, including screening tools and intervention procedures in support of universal Screening, Brief Intervention...