BCMA and Ministry of Health guidelines lead the way in new screening tool to help reduce alcohol-related risks

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) announced yesterday the launch of a new online tool to assist doctors, the public and other health professionals with screening, intervention, referral and support to help address the problematic use of alcohol. The joint news release issued November 22nd states the online tool is a “practical, web-based guide that offers a three-step alcohol assessment and referral process, supported by related online resources. It is the first of its kind to incorporate Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines.”

The structure and content of this new tool is derived from guidelines that the BC Medial Association and the Ministry of Health jointly developed. The recognition of addiction as a chronic disease was a top recommendation made by the BCMA’s Addiction Strategy Group in its 2009 policy paper titled Stepping Forward: Improving addiction care in British Columbia. For the next 18 months, the BC Medical Association focused on developing guidelines for family physicians to use to identify their patients who are problem drinkers and to assist in their treatment. These guidelines led the way in establishing this new online resource.

Please explore the SBIR website at www.sbir-diba.ca.

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College of Family Physicians of Canada website

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse website