ABSTRACT
Primary care physicians should assume ongoing responsibility for patients with alcohol problems and provide comprehensive and coordinated care. All patients should be educated about “at-risk” drinking and screened for alcohol problems. At-risk patients should be assessed for alcohol-related medical, psychiatric, and behavioral problems and advised to decrease their alcohol consumption to a level below “at-risk” levels using brief intervention techniques. Alcohol-dependent patients should be advised to abstain from alcohol and referred for appropriate alcohol treatment. They should also be examined and treated for alcohol-related medical, psychiatric, and behavioral problems. Primary care physicians should monitor patients in recovery over time and promote abstinence.
