The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has published new advice for physicians interested in "Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much," the Washington Post reported June 13.

The guidelines include simple steps for screening patients for excessive alcohol use. Recommended screening consists of a single question; For men: How many days in the past year have you had five or more drinks? For women: How many days in the past year have you had four or more drinks?

Targeted are heavy drinkers who may not be addicted to alcohol but are at risk of becoming dependent. "We're trying to increase the accessibility and attractiveness of treatment to a much broader spectrum of people," said Mark L. Willenbring, head of the Division of Treatment and Recovery Research at NIAAA. "We know that that group responds very, very well to what we call facilitated self-change and brief motivational counseling. We could make that very widely available without much cost."

However, NIAAA first needs to convince primary-care physicians that alcohol problems can be diagnosed and treated, similar to how many doctors have learned to screen patients for depression. "Most doctors don't know how to make the diagnosis and don't really try to do anything about it until it is so easy to diagnose that all you have to do is glance at the patient," said Charles P. O'Brien, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.