Improving the efficiency of drug use disorder screening in psychiatric settings: validation of a single-item screen.

Background: Co-occurring drug use disorders are under-detected in psychiatrically ill populations highlighting the need for more efficient screening tools.

Objectives: This study compares a single-item screening tool, previously validated in a primary care setting, to the 10-item Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10) for identifying co-occurring drug use disorders among patients with severe psychiatric illness.

Methods: A total of 395 patients attending a psychiatric partial hospital program completed both the single-item screen and DAST-10.