April 5, 2010

Workplace Alcohol Screening, Brief Intervention, & EAPs: BIG (Brief Intervention Group) Initiative

In August 2010, principals with the Brief Intervention Group (BIG) Initiative launched a campaign to standardize the use and delivery of Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for employee assistance programs (EAPs) and the behavioral health industry in the United States and Canada. The BIG Initiative was developed by Ensuring Solutions with the assistance of a cohort of EAP provider organizations to increase the use of SBIRT, with the overall goal of reducing the social, financial, and health costs of risky drinking. The BIG Initiative members have planned to work with EAP providers and suppliers to standardize SBIRT delivery in call centers and among networks of office-based affiliates. The goal is to increase the use of SBIRT across the industry, such that by October 2011, alcohol screening and brief intervention will be considered routine practice.