Screening for Drug Use in Primary Care

Use of illegal drugs and inappropriate use of prescription medications (e.g., opioids, stimulants) are common in primary care, but the problem often is not recognized. Screening questionnaires are available but are time-consuming and have not been validated in primary care populations. Investigators evaluated the accuracy of a single-question screen (similar to those for depression and alcohol abuse) for detecting drug use.

A total of 286 patients were selected from the waiting room of a primary care clinic at a Boston safety-net hospital and were asked, “How many times in the past year have you used an illegal drug or used a prescription medication for non-medical reasons?” An answer of at least one time was an affirmative response. Partici…