Expanded screening tool could improve substance use disorder diagnosis, treatment

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine have expanded a screening tool that could lead to more accurate and timely diagnoses — and therefore treatment — of substance use disorder.

"Appropriate substance use disorder treatment begins with accurate assessments, but staff shortages, lack of training and limited access to traditional assessment resources all present obstacles to accurate diagnoses," said Dr. Leslie Hulvershorn, Continuity Lead at the Irsay and associate professor of psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine, who led the project. "Our new approach, called the Computerized Adaptive Test for Substance Use Disorder Expanded, provides accurate substance use disorder diagnoses without the need for a trained clinician by using a web-based modality that is efficient, scalable and flexibly implemented."