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MD:  Maryland Department of Health encourages people to screen for alcohol usage

MD:  Maryland Department of Health encourages people to screen for alcohol usage

WDVM

by Cheyenne Corin

April 8, 2021

WASHINGTON (WDVM) — National Alcohol Screening day is a community-driven event that raises awareness of alcohol problems and encourages alcohol screening. 

Maryland’s Department of Health says alcoholism is underdetected, but regular screenings to monitor usage can decrease the risk of having medical complications due to excessive drinking. To prevent binge drinking, women shouldn’t drink more than 1 standard drink a day and men 2 a day. 

It is a recommendation of the National Prevention Task Force that all adults be screened for alcohol use disorders, and the Academy of Pediatrics recommends that adolescents 12 years and older should be screened as well. 

Dr. Aliya Jones, Deputy Secretary at Maryland’s Behavior Health Administration emphasizes the importance of providers monitoring screenings in regular clinical practice. 

“If you just make it apart of your regular clinical practice then you’ll detect more alcohol use amongst the people you are caring for,” Jones said. “But if you don’t do the formal screening, chances are you aren’t going to catch it.”

If you think that you may have an issue with alcohol, the first place to go is to your primary care provider. Many screenings can be done alone such as on this website.