USPSTF Recommends Screening for Unhealthy Drug Use

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has, for the first time, recommended that primary care providers screen adults for unhealthy drug use. The recommendation includes pregnant and postpartum women.

The new guidance serves as an update to the group’s 2008 recommendations, which concluded that there was insufficient evidence to determine the balance of benefits and harms of screening.

Following a review of newly available evidence, the USPSTF issued the grade B recommendations for screening with questions about unhealthy drug use for adults aged 18 years and older. This should be implemented when services for accurate diagnosis, treatment, and appropriate care are available for patients, they added.

They continue to conclude, however, that there is insufficient evidence to determine the benefits and harms of screening in adolescents.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Us Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for unhealthy drug use: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation statement. JAMA. 2020;323(22):2301-2309. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.8020