SBIRT in Massachusetts

The MASBIRT program was a federally (SAMHSA) funded cooperative agreement to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services and implemented by Boston Medical Center. Methods: MASBIRT was implemented in 3 medical centers and 5 community health centers in the greater Boston area. Health Promotion Advocates conducted SBIRT in inpatient units, outpatient clinics, emergency/urgent care departments, and specialty clinics. Patient encounters ranged from 5-45 minutes and delivered all services at the point of care. A sample (~5%) of those patients screened positive for unhealthy substance use (i.e., risky use to dependence) was followed up at six months to determine the impact of the SBIRT encounter. Sixty-eight percent of those in the sample were interviewed. Results: MASBIRT had over 173,758 patient encounters that resulted in over 24,587 brief interventions and 4,356 referrals to substance abuse treatment services. Of those patients interviewed six months after their initial encounter, the percent of patients using any substance in the previous 30 days decreased from 94.7% to 68.3%. The number of patients reporting use decreased in all substance categories. The mean number of days of use also decreased for all substances except cocaine/crack.