Abstract
Little information exists about alcohol use within health facilities. We sought to determine alcohol use and control in acute-care hospitals by mailing a questionnaire to a convenience sample of Pharmacy Directors of 24 hospitals in two regions. Of 23 responders, in-patient alcohol was dispensed by 21 (91%) within the last 5 years. Of these 21, both beverage and intravenous alcohol were dispensed by 13 (62%), only beverage alcohol by seven (33%), and only intravenous alcohol by one (5%). No institutional policies regarding alcohol dispensing existed in 16 (70%) hospitals. Alcohol was frequently used as a patient courtesy (14/20, 70%), and to prevent withdrawal (7/20, 35%). All pharmacies procured intravenous alcohol in a formal process, but 60% (12/20) obtained beverage alcohol informally. Alcohol is widely dispensed with few guidelines in this sample of acute-care hospitals. Additional research on therapeutic efficacy, consequences, and institutional oversight of alcohol in hospitals is needed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 65-73 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Addictive Diseases |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1 2002 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Alcohol
- Hospital
- Institutional controls
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health