title: Hospital-based alcohol and drug specialty consultation service: does it work?
abstract: The goals of this report are to describe the development of an inpatient-based alcohol and drug abuse consultation service in a university hospital. At the University of Wisconsin Hospital, we collected data on baseline diagnosis, health services, and costs for inpatients who received such a consultation in 1992-1993 (n = 1,098, 3.5% of all admissions). Follow-up interviews were conducted on a sample of 175 subjects. At the initial assessment, 65% were nicotine dependent, and 50% met criteria for alcohol dependence, 19% for alcohol abuse, 13% for alcohol and drug abuse/dependence. The average cost to patients for a consultation was $220. At the 6-month follow-up interview (n = 175), 42% of the subjects reported complete abstinence, 70% reported reductions in use, and 56% participated in an alcohol and drug treatment program. An inpatient-based alcohol and drug abuse consultation service provides a critical benefit that has not previously been offered in most academic medical centers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin Medical School and Hospital, Madison 53715.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilk
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kruger
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kropp
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manwell
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Desnoyers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy*; D005249:Fees and Charges; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006302:Health Services Research; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010349:Patient Compliance; D016730:Program Development; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014922:Wisconsin