Early Intervention for Alcohol and Drug Problems: Core Issues for Medical Education

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Abstract
There is increasing evidence that lifestyle problems, such as excessive drinking, cigarette smoking and drug abuse, can be successfully treated by brief intervention. The primary care physician is in a good position to identify these problems among patients, and to intervene with brief counselling at an early stage when prognosis is more favourable. This article provides a blueprint of core teaching issues for medical education on early intervention. Four specific questions are addressed: 1. who is the target population? 2. what are the key indicators? 3. how should physicians intervene? and 4. why is early intervention important? Practical strategies are discussed for early detection and brief counselling that can be readily implemented in busy clinical settings.