Assessment of alcoholism among dually diagnosed psychiatric inpatients

Alcohol is an increasingly abused substance among psychiatric inpatients, and the extent to which alcohol dependence history is documented and the alcoholism subsequently treated is a compelling issue. This study is a retrospective review of the extent to which alcohol dependence history was obtained, and if applicable, whether a diagnosis and/or treatment plan were made, for acute psychiatric inpatients. For these purposes, an original instrument was constructed. Our results indicate that the predominant focus for acute inpatients is on diagnostic assessment of the severity of the alcohol problem, reflecting the need to deal with those issues requiring the most immediate attention. For patients with schizophrenia, attention to alcoholism diagnosis and treatment was less than that for nonschizophrenic patients. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to the evaluation and treatment of dually diagnosed patients, along with further directions for research.