Implementation of an Evidence-Based Drug Screening Tool for Inpatient Behavioral Health Admissions

INTRODUCTION: The implementation of an evidence-based screening protocol may increase the identification of substance use disorders (SUDs) among inpatient settings. Because routine screening can be time-consuming and difficult to implement, protocol should prioritize a low-burden, high-impact tool. AIMS: To determine how the routine implementation of the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) affects the treatment and identification of SUDs at a psychiatric inpatient hospital over a period of three months. METHODS: Patients (n=110) completed the DAST-10 throughout the admissions process between October and December of 2021. The subsequent monitoring (Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale, Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment) and treatment protocols (buprenorphine, clonidine and/or lorazepam) were compared by retrospective review to charts from the same period in 2020 (n=110). RESULTS: The routine administration of DAST-10 was found to have an insignificant effect upon total treatment and screening rates when the p-value was set to pCONCLUSION: There were no significant differences between the screening and treatment outcomes across groups. Because some treatment conditions were barely outside of p value parameters, a larger sample size is warranted.