Screenings Start in Pittsburgh Hospital September 20, 2002
Communities in Action Emergency room physicians are often in a position to identify problem drinkers and other drug users, but may feel that they don't have the correct skills to do so. In July, emergency room physicians at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Shadyside Hospital were trained and started screening patients for alcohol and drug abuse and addiction. As a result, over forty people are now in treatment.Karen Plavan, coordinator of Pittsburgh's Demand Treatment! Initiative, said the Shadyside physicians' response has been "extremely positive." Physicians from within Shadyside Hospital are also referring people to the emergency room as a result of this effort.
Edward Bernstein, M.D., a professor of emergency medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, trained the physicians at Shadyside Hospital. In 1994, Bernstein started Project ASSERT (Alcohol and Substance Abuse Service and Education for Provider Referral to Treatment), which gives physicians strategies for assessing and referring patients with substance abuse problems. Bernstein and his wife, Judith Bernstein, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health, now teach other physicians the techniques used in the project.
To refer someone to treatment, physicians at Shadyside Hospital contact Diane Benjamin, a certified addictions counselor from CLEAR (Coalition for Leadership, Education, and Advocacy for Recovery), who has an office in the emergency room and is on call 24 hours.
Benjamin has spent up to seven hours per patient finding suitable programs. Thanks to her Herculean effort, everyone referred to her has entered some form of treatment. But this difficulty finding treatment has further exposed the challenges people in Pennsylvania can face when trying to get appropriate care.
