Screening can focus on substance use (unhealthy alcohol use, unhealthy drug use, or tobacco use), mental health (such as depression or anxiety), or other healthcare concerns. Conducting screening is a way for healthcare providers (such as primary care physicians) to understand someone's level of risk from those concerns (e.g., the risk that someone might be using alcohol in an unhealthy way). For many populations and healthcare topics, screening is recommended in the United States as part of preventive healthcare [1].
Usually, screening involves asking carefully constructed questions (sometimes called a "screening tool") to determine the nature and extent of a person's risk. That information helps to determine the next step in the SBIRT process.
Universal Screening
Universal screening is the process of asking everyone receiving healthcare from an organization (such as all patients who go to the same doctor's office) to complete one or more screening tools on a regularly scheduled basis (often yearly). This has the benefit of:
- Saving time because it provides information about certain risks for all patients by default;
- Detecting problems at an early stage before patients experience additional harm;
- Providing an early opportunity to intervene and educate patients about key topics, such as unhealthy substance use; and
- Normalizing discussions about substance use and mental health as a routine part of healthcare.