Assessing Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Compliance and Disparities for Pediatric Inpatients at a Tertiary Care Facility

Background Pediatric trauma centers are required to screen patients for alcohol or other drug use (AOD), Briefly Intervene, and Refer these patients to Treatment (SBIRT) to meet Level 1 and 2 trauma center requirements set by the American College of Surgeons. We evaluated if a mandatory electronic medical record tool increased SBIRT screening compliance for all trauma and non-trauma adolescent inpatients. Methods A SBIRT electronic medical record tool was implemented for pediatric inpatient AOD screening. A positive screen prompted brief intervention and referral for treatment in coordination with social work and psychiatric consultants. We compared pre and post- implementation screening rates among inpatients age 12-18 years and performed sub-group analyses. Results There were 873 patients before and 1,091 after implementation. Questionnaire screening increased from 0% to 34.4% (p Conclusion Multidisciplinary training along with an electronic medical record tool increased SBIRT protocol compliance. Demographic disparities in intervention rates may exist.