title: Assessment and screening for substance abuse: guidelines for the primary care nurse practitioner.
abstract: In ambulatory care settings, NPs can expect to encounter numerous patients who have had or currently have an alcohol and/or other drug problem. In addition, a large number of patients are estimated to have an undetected or undiagnosed problem. This article presents guidelines for the assessment and screening of patients abusing alcohol and other drugs. History-taking, screening instruments, physical examination, and commonly used biological markers/laboratory tests are described. Brief intervention techniques and referral resources are also discussed.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Burns
mesh_terms: D003663:Decision Trees; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control