Expand SBIRT Program

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Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is used to provide care for substance users across the spectrum from early intervention to extensive specialized treatment. This represents a paradigm shift in substance-abuse treatment, which has historically focused on people that meet the criteria for substance abuse or dependence as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition.

The SBIRT model screens all patients regardless of an identified disorder, allowing healthcare professionals in a variety of settings to address a patient's behavioral health even when that patient is not actively seeking treatment or care for their behavioral health problems. While SBIRT is well-established as an effective intervention for risky alcohol use researchers and clinicians are just beginning to explore it as an intervention for risky drug use.

By expanding the use of SBIRT and improving SBIRT practices, communities should be able to reduce the number of people who develop a dependency on opioids or Opioid Use Disorder. It should provide pathways for people to get appropriate help sooner--which reduces the potential negative impact of using opioids. SBIRT can be done in many different settings, and there are a variety of ways to do each element of SBIRT. This creates many opportunities to expand and improve SBIRT practices.  

 

Research on the Effectiveness of SBIRT

While the strongest evidence for the effectiveness of SBIRT relates to using it to address alcohol misuse, there is growing evidence in its effectiveness in accelerating people getting help with misuse of opioids.
  This 2017 report summarizes five years of research on SBIRT
  The research covered eleven multi-site programs in two cohorts of SAMHSA grant recipients were each funded for 5 years to promote the use and sustained implementation of SBIRT. They screened more than 1 million people. The programs used substance use specialists instead of medical generalists to deliver services.

 

• Greater intervention intensity was associated with larger decrease in substance use.
• Brief intervention and treatment had positive outcomes, brief intervention was more cost effective for most substances.

Four factors influenced SBIRT sustainability:

• Presence of a program champion
• Availability of funding
• Systematic change
• Effective management of SBIRT provider challenges

Key Findings:

• SBIRT was adapted successfully to the needs of early identification efforts for harmful use of alcohol and illicit drugs
• SBIRT is an innovative way to integrate management of substance use disorders into primary care and general medicine
• SBIRT improved treatment system equity, efficiency, and economy

 

SBIRT Training

General Training

One of the keys to expanding the use of Screening and SBIRT tools is to increase the general awareness of the SBIRT approach and the value of identifying people who are misusing substances (or at risk of misusing substances) as soon as possible. 

This set of Webinars provides valuable background and could be shared with many different community stakeholders:  https://sbirt.webs.com/webinars

More SBIRT Training Resources are available at  http://www.sbirteducation.com 

 

Promising Programs

SBIRT in Schools

Some states, like Massachusetts have been moving to significantly expand SBIRT in schools.
  A research report shared early findings: 
  Training on using SBIRT in schools to address alcohol use: 
  This article has encouraging updates and resources on using SBIRT in School-Based Health Clinics:
 

 

SBIRT in Emergency Room Settings

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https://www.bu.edu/bniart/files/2011/02/SBIRT-emergency-care-setting.pdf

 

SBIRT in Community Clinics & FQHCs

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SBIRT in Mental Health Settings

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https://ireta.org/resources/what-is-sbirt-and-why-might-it-fit-well-in-mental-health-settings-the-research-is-just-beginning/

SBIRT in Dental Settings

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The Journal of the American Dental Association, Volume 142, Issue 7, July 2011, Pages 800-810  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002817714622649

The Journal of the American Dental Association, Volume 144, Issue 6, June 2013, Pages 627-638 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002817714607674

Funding

The following organizations are currently funding research and initiatives to expand SBIRT:

 

1. Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration
3. A report by Catalyst shares several innovative ways to fund SBIRT in schools  
   Funding Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in Public Schools

Screening

More information about screening and testing for misuse.

Brief Intervention

Models for brief treatment recommended by SAMHSA include:

 

1. Brief Negotiated Interview
2. Brief counseling
3. Feedback, Responsibility, Menu of options, Empathy, Self-efficacy (FRAMES)
4. Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques

 

Referral to Treatment

According to SAMHSA , commonly used models for brief treatment include:

 

1. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
2. Motivational Enhancement Therapy
3. Community Reinforcement Approach
4. Solution-focused Therapy

Scorecard Building

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Tools & Resources

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