Policy & Practice
Clinician's Guide to Alcoholism
Physicians have a new tool to help them identify and care for patients with heavy drinking and alcohol use disorders, About 3 in 10 U.S. adults drink at levels that increase their risk for physical, mental health, and social problems; of these heavy drinkers, about 1 in 4 currently has alcohol dependence problems that often go undetected in medical and mental health care settings. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recently released a new guide called “Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician's Guide,” which offers guidance for conducting brief interventions and managing patient care. If a patient drinks heavily (five or more drinks in a day for men or four or more for women), the guide shows physicians how to look for symptoms of alcohol abuse or dependence. The guide is at
