Audit-C Alcohol Assessment

The AUDIT-C assessment can help identify persons who are hazardous drinkers or have active alcohol use disorders (including alcohol abuse or dependence). The AUDIT-C is a modified version of the 10-question AUDIT instrument. The AUDIT-C is scored on a scale of 0–12. Each AUDIT-C question has five answer choices. Points allocated are:

a = 0 points

b = 1 point

c = 2 points

d = 3 points

e = 4 points

In men a score of 4 or more is considered positive, optimal for identifying hazardous drinking or active alcohol use disorders.

In women a score of 3 or more is considered positive (same as above).

Note that prior to your first use of the Audit-C Assessment, MedicalDirector Clinical will read the last assessment recorded using the old alcohol assessment tool (pre Clinical v3.16a), and attempt to map it to the Audit-C fields. See the table below for data-mapping information.

The recording of data on this tab is for your records only; it plays no part in the functioning of other modules within Clinical, except for the Letter Writer where some of this information can be merged into letters.

• Click View Alcohol Guidelines to open a window of information on alcohol consumption.
• Click Reference to open the World Health Organisation's web page 'Screening and brief intervention for alcohol problems in primary health care'.
• Click New Assessment to record a new assessment. This clears data from the window, ready for your new assessment. Once you completed the assessment, click Save to save the data. A new entry will be added to the list of assessments, located at the top-right of this window.
• A note is also added to the patient's Progress Notes.
• Information you save here is reflected in the patient's Health Assessment, and ATSI Health Assessment (for eligible patients).
• The latest assessment is always displayed by default when you access the Alcohol tab.
• To view a previous assessment, locate and double-click a previous assessment from the list at the top-right of this window.
• Click Delete to delete a previous assessment.
• Update Address for All Family Members check box: Update the address details for other family members with the details of the current patient. Clinical uses the Head of Family setting to determine which patients are members of the same family. This option is only available when editing Patient Details from the Clinical Window.
• Auto-Capitalise Names check box:
  Tick the Auto-Capitalise Names check box to automatically capitalise the first letter of each word you type. There are numerous windows throughout MedicalDirector Clinical that offer this functionality, including the various Options tabs.

Alcohol Guidelines

A “standard drink” contains 10 grams of alcohol (equivalent to 12.5mL of alcohol)

Summary of the Guidelines

• Guideline 1: Reducing the risk of alcohol-related harm over a lifetime
• The lifetime risk of harm from drinking alcohol increases with the amount consumed.
• For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

 

• Guideline 2: Reducing the risk of injury on a single occasion of drinking
• On a single occasion of drinking, the risk of alcohol-related injury increases with the amount consumed.
• For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.

 

• Guideline 3: Children and young people under 18 years of age
• For children and young people under 18 years of age, not drinking alcohol is the safest option.
• A. Parents and carers should be advised that children under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking and that for this age group, not drinking alcohol is especially important.
• B. For young people aged 15−17 years, the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking for as long as possible.

 

• Guideline 4: Pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Maternal alcohol consumption can harm the developing fetus or breastfeeding baby.
• A. For women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, not drinking is the safest option.
• B. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking is the safest option.

Source: “NHMRC” Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol

Endorsed February 2009

Mapping of Old Assessment Data

Prior to your first use of the Audit-C Assessment, Clinical will read the last assessment recorded using the old alcohol assessment tool (pre Clinical v3.16a), and attempt to map it to the Audit-C fields. The following table outlines data mapping guidelines.