What are the recommended screening tools for identifying substance use disorders in primary care settings?

Recommended screening tools for identifying substance use disorders in primary care settings include:

• The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) for alcohol misuse screening and identification, as recommended for use in primary care and antenatal settings.
• Routine questioning about recent drug use when patients present with symptoms suggestive of drug misuse, such as acute chest pain in young people, acute psychosis, or mood and sleep disorders.
• Use of biological testing (e.g., urine or oral fluid samples) can be part of a comprehensive assessment but should not be the sole diagnostic method.

While specific validated questionnaires for drug misuse beyond AUDIT are not explicitly detailed for primary care in the provided guidelines, the emphasis is on routine enquiry about drug use and symptom-based assessment to identify possible substance misuse.

Therefore, in primary care, the AUDIT is the primary formal screening tool recommended for alcohol use disorders, and structured questioning about drug use is advised for drug misuse identification.

References: AUDIT for alcohol use screening ²,⁴; routine questioning and biological testing for drug misuse ¹,³.