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7. Screening patients for alcohol consumption

Who should screen patients in urgent and emergency care settings?

Any registered healthcare professional should routinely screen patients who are conscious and not critically ill to help with early identification of risky alcohol consumption. This should include all patients and not just those admitted because of an alcohol-related accident, injury or illness. All healthcare professionals should also be involved in taking action based on the screening results, either delivering a brief intervention or a referral for treatment.

How should I screen patients for alcohol consumption?

There are many tools available to help you assess a patient’s alcohol consumption in urgent and emergency care settings. For example:

  • M-SASQ (Modified Single Alcohol Screening Question)
  • AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test)
  • AUDIT-C (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for Consumption)
  • FAST (Fast Alcohol Use Screening Test)
  • PAT (Paddington Alcohol Test)

M-SASQ is a single question tool developed for use in emergency departments. It includes one question from the full AUDIT tool and is used to quickly assess those at risk of alcohol harm.

Interpreting the M-SASQ score and actions
Questions Scoring system Your score
0 1 2 3 4
How often have you had 6 or more units if female, or 8 or more if male, on a single occasion in last year? Never Less than monthly Monthly Weekly Daily or almost daily
Initial screen using M-SASQ:
Initial screen using the M-SASQ (1 - question)
0 1 2 3 4 5
Lower risk Increasing risk

Please Note: No score is given in the M-SASQ tool for higher risk.

AUDIT-C is one of the most commonly used tools. It asks 3 simple questions about alcohol consumption.

Interpreting the Audit-C score and actions:
Questions Scoring system Your score
0 1 2 3 4
How often do you have a drink containing alcohol? Never Monthly or less 2-4 times per month 2-3 times per week 4 or more times per week
How many units of alcohol do you drink on a typical day when you are drinking? 0 to 2 3 to 4 5 to 6 7 to 9 10 or more
How often have you had 6 or more units if female, or 8 or more if male, on a single occassion in last year? Never Less than monthly Monthly Weekly Daily or almost daily
Initial screen using the Audit-C:
Initial screen using the Audit-C (3 - questions)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Lower risk Increasing risk Higher risk
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