New Resource: PCSS-P
NIH Announces a New Resource to Help You Care For Patients Who Misuse Drugs
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April, 2011—The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has launched a new resource as an extension of NIDAMED, a collection of tools to help primary care providers identify and advise patients who may be misusing or abusing drugs.
The newest resource tool is called the Physician Clinical Support System for Primary Care (PCSS-P). This tool offers peer-to-peer mentorship and resources on incorporating screening and follow-up into regular patient care. PCSS-P is a project of the NIDA, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).
PCSS-P is considered a warmline service—”warm” because the response is within 24 hours rather than an immediate response typical of a hotline—and is available to you at no cost. When you register with PCSS-P, you receive the contact information of a mentor who is a specialist in screening, brief intervention, treatment, and referral for patients with substance abuse problems. You can then contact these mentors via phone or email, with specific questions about clinical situations involving alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. To take advantage of the service, you can call PCSS-P at 877-630-8812, or register online at www.PCSSmentor.org.
PCSS-P builds on the success of other warmline models offering peer-to-peer advice on using buprenorphine and methadone to treat opioid dependence. This new warmline is targeted to primary care providers and offers help as you begin to introduce drug abuse screening into your practice.
PCSS-P is designed to be used with NIDA’s Quick Screen, a quick screening tool to help you identify patients who may require professional follow-up. Quick Screen is an online interactive single-question screen that asks, “In the past year, how many times have you used the following: alcohol (more than 4 or 5 drinks in a day for women or men, respectively), tobacco products, prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, and illegal drugs?” If a patient indicates past year use of illegal drugs, or prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons, you have the option of conducting NIDA’s full screening tool for the specific drugs abused.
Abuse of and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and illegal substances cost Americans upwards of half a trillion dollars a year (the combined medical, economic, criminal, and social impact). Every year, the abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol contributes to the death of more than 100,000 Americans, while tobacco is linked to an estimated 440,000 deaths per year.
NIDAMED resources include a companion quick reference guide and a comprehensive resource guide for clinicians. All of the NIDAMED resources, including the Quick Screen, can be found at http://www.nida.nih.gov/nidamed/.
Published on April 12, 2011
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