Screening, Brief Intervention, & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)

SBIRT is a comprehensive, integrated, public health approach emphasizing early intervention and treatment services for persons with substance use disorders, as well as those who are at risk of developing these disorders. Primary care offices, hospital emergency rooms, trauma centers, and other community settings provide opportunities for early intervention with at-risk substance users.

• Screening quickly assesses the severity of substance use and identifies the appropriate level of treatment.
• Brief Intervention focuses on increasing insight and awareness regarding substance use, and motivating patients toward behavioral change.
• Referral to Treatment provides patients in need of more extensive treatment with access to specialty care upon request. SBIRT screeners also provide information on campus-based educational and counseling resources to undergraduate student patients.

The SBIRT Collaborative primarily targets patients with nondependent substance use with the aim of fostering effective strategies for intervention prior to the need for specialized treatment. Screeners function as patient advocates when encounters with severely affected patients result in requests for specialized treatment. Screeners also facilitate patient access to additional hospital resources such as counselors, social workers, and chaplains when dealing with financial/legal/familial issues, anxiety/depression or domestic violence, which can all seriously impact a patient's substance use behaviors.