ER Interventions Reduce Drinking Damage

Spending as little seven minutes with a doctor for on-the-spot emergency room counseling may help curb your dangerous drinking, according to a new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Researchers from Yale University observed around 900 emergency room patients with harmful drinking habits—some of whom received brief counseling sessions after they showed up. They found that those who were counseled were less likely to continue to binge drink or to drive under the influence again. The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “So many of the tragedies we see in the emergency department are due to problem drinking,” says Gail D’Onofrio, MD, chair of emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine. “Our study shows that brief counseling of patients can improve outcomes and have a life-saving impact." The patients who received the on-the-spot counseling interventions were found to continue with their healthier habits—even one year later.