Enhancing screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment among socioeconomically disadvantaged patients: study protocol for a knowledge exchange intervention involving patients and physicians.

Background: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral for Treatment (SBIRT) is an effective approach for managing alcohol and other drug misuse in primary care; however, uptake into routine care has been limited. Uptake of SBIRT by healthcare providers may be particularly problematic for disadvantaged populations exhibiting alcohol and other drug problems, and requires creative approaches to enhance patient engagement. This knowledge translation project developed and evaluated a group of patient and health care provider resources designed to enhance the capacity of health care providers to use SBIRT and improve patient engagement with health care.

Caller self-care decisions following teletriage advice.

Aim: To examine caller self-care decisions following teletriage advice provided by nurses.

Background: The use of teletriage is gaining popularity as one way of enhancing capacity for self-care. Research from several countries suggests that teletriage reduces the use of other healthcare services without compromising safety.

A primary care/multidisciplinary harm reduction clinic including opiate bridging.

Wait times for methadone maintenance programs are associated with significant dropout rates. This puts the substance user at risk of continued illegal and high-risk behavior. We describe a unique model of daily dispensing opiates other than methadone to "bridge" clients awaiting methadone management.

Automated patient assessments after outpatient surgery using an interactive voice response system.

Objective: To test the feasibility and utility of an interactive voice response system (IVRS) for monitoring patients after outpatient surgery.

Methods: We studied consecutive patients undergoing gynecologic day surgery. The IVRS called patients on the first postoperative day and asked them if they were experiencing new problems.

Emergency department patient satisfaction survey in Alberta's Capital Health region.

In 2005, a large Canadian health region conducted an emergency department patient feedback survey to obtain information on patient perceptions of satisfaction with emergency services received. The Capital Health region is one of nine Alberta Health Authorities, located in the central portion of the province, serving a population of 1.6 million people in metropolitan Edmonton and the surrounding area.