Our speakers are Christine Chasek, PhD, John Brooklyn, MD, Denise O’Connell, MSW, and Mary Lindsey Smith, PhD, MSW. This presentation focuses on treating alcohol use disorder (AUD) in rural primary care settings. Our panel addresses the extent of rural alcohol use, specific rural barriers to treatment, clinical management of AUD, and best practices for treatment program design.
Learning objectives:
- Understand the importance of screening in novel ways for mental health and substance use in rural communities
- Discuss ways rural communities can spread awareness about AUD
- Understand the biological basis for treating people who use alcohol with medications in the office
- Learn how to reframe the message around alcohol ingestion
- Understand organizational and provider-level barriers to addressing unhealthy alcohol use in rural primary care settings as well as successful strategies that can be implemented to mitigate these challenges
- Describe the necessary steps to create and coordinate an effective and efficient team-based practice model for alcohol screening and patient care in rural primary care practices