PRISM-E: Comparison of Integrated Care and Enhanced Specialty Referral in Managing At-Risk Alcohol Use

This study was part of the Primary Care Research in Substance Abuse and Mental Health for the Elderly study (PRISM-E) and determined the relative effectiveness of two different models of care for reducing at-risk alcohol use among primary care patients aged 65 and older. This multisite study was a randomized clinical trial comparing integrated care with enhanced specialty referral for older primary care patients screened and identified to have at-risk drinking. Before the study, the 560 participants consumed a mean of 17.9 drinks per week and had a mean of 21.1 binge episodes in the prior three months. At six months, both treatment groups reported lower levels of average weekly drinking (p