General Hospital Wards and Outpatient Clinics

Clear associations have been found between hospital admissions for traumatic incidents or medical problems and alcohol consumption. Common alcohol-related hospitalisations including alcohol dependence/abuse, cancers, cardiovascular disease and digestive diseases. A positive screen for risky drinking a year before surgery predicts more days in intensive care and hospital post-surgery and a higher likelihood of returning for further surgery within 30 days. Hospital wards can be a particularly effective setting for delivering brief interventions to people who drink at risky levels who already demonstrate or may be at risk of developing alcohol problems. Patients are also often more motivated and willing to change their drinking behaviours after being hospitalised, and reductions in alcohol use are also likely to have benefits for their medical presentation. 

A meta-analysis on brief interventions delivered in general hospital inpatient wards for heavy alcohol users found it had benefits in terms of reduced alcohol consumption and death rates up to 12 months later. Limited research on the effectiveness of brief interventions delivered in general medical outpatient services has been conducted to date. There is preliminary evidence that brief motivational interviewing may be effective for reducing alcohol use in oral and maxillofacial outpatient clinics, but it is not effective in general outpatient clinics.