Skip to main content

Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 22, 2025.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit, according to a study published online May 20 in JAMA Network Open.

Kathleen Ragan-Burnett, M.S.P.H., from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues assessed youth-serving clinicians’ screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment practices for SUDs among adolescents. The analysis included survey responses from 1,047 youth-serving clinicians.

The researchers found that most clinicians (60.6 percent) reported that skills in SUD diagnosis were relevant to their practice, and 76.4 percent reported seeing at least one adolescent with an SUD monthly. Just over half of clinicians (56.9 percent) reported screening for SUDs at every well visit, with a high proportion of pediatricians reporting screening at every well visit (69.2 percent). Just over one-third of clinicians (39.3 percent) reported screening at every well visit using a screening tool and just under one-third of clinicians (30.7 percent) offered all components of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment practice.

"Efforts to improve screening rates through education and systems-based practice changes may facilitate offering anticipatory guidance and SUD treatment in all youth-serving clinical settings," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Pulmonary Embolism More Common in Children Than Previously Thought

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Pulmonary embolism (PE) is more common in children than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025...

Many Heart Failure Patients Do Not See a Cardiologist Annually

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- About 40 percent of patients with heart failure diagnosis do not see a cardiologist annually, according to a study published online May 18 in the...

Pediatric Magnet Ingestion Rates Still High

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Global pediatric magnet ingestion rates remain high and incidence has increased, despite the implementation of national policies, according to a review...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.