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POLARIS-DARSSA (Dynamic Assessment and Referral System for Substance Abuse)
Comprehensive assessment for health care settings for drug, alcohol and tobacco use

THE STORY BEHIND THE PRODUCT
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Substance abuse, including that of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, kills more Americans each year than any other health choice. These can be preventable deaths if the abuse is detected and properly treated in time. Accordingly, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recommends that health care settings implement a 'screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment' (SBIRT) system. But many health care providers, while acknowledging SAMHSA's endorsement, have yet to integrate such a system into their practices.

Polaris Health Directions, in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson and University of Massachusetts Medical Schools, has designed a system to address this need that takes advantage of the latest technology in computerized assessments. To ensure its adaptability in fast-paced, intense settings, the DARSSA was developed and field-tested in a highly demanding Emergency Medicine environment.

There are three components to DARSSA: a module to administer assessments; a report generator that produces a summary of the data collected; and a referral generator that builds a tailored referral list taking into consideration the patient's insurance status, geographic location, substance type and problem severity.

The Assessment Module is a response-adaptive, self-administered assessment that screens for tobacco, alcohol and other drug use. Questions focus on rate and frequency of use, indicators of problematic use, readiness to change and whether they are interested in receiving an electronic referral to a treatment provider. DARSSA also screens for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, and for domestic violence.

The Report Generator produces a health care provider report and a tailored patient feedback report. The health care provider report was designed based on input from a wide range of specialties, including emergency medicine, cardiology, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and family practice. As a result, the report represents that information considered most crucial to providers to help them make decisions in busy clinical settings. The report is in compliance with Medicare and other insurance billing requirements.

The patient feedback report includes an assessment summary, personalized motivational feedback, tailored referral lists, and up to three "quick fact sheets" that provide education and treatment resources for the specific drug(s) the patient takes. It also provides a one-page "Motivation Review," which outlines self-help exercises that are meant to inspire a patient to change.

The Referral Generator draws from an extensive database of accredited substance treatment facilities and independent practitioners. Along with the tailored referral list described above, patients may also choose the 'dynamic referral' option, which prompts the Referral Generator to send a fax to a substance treatment provider. The fax consists of a HIPAA-compliant cover sheet; an assessment summary; an electronically-signed release for the medical information; and the patient's personal contact information. The provider to whom the patient has been referred is required to make attempts to contact the patient within five days to discuss treatment options and to schedule an appointment.



FURTHER BENEFITS OF POLARIS-DARSSA


✔ Provides a highly time-efficient, effective SBIRT intervention as promoted by SAMHSA

✔ Web-based and flexible so it can be easily integrated into a variety of medical settings

✔ Can have a positive impact on a patient's health and influence their decision to stop using drugs, alcohol or tobacco

✔ Can improve detection and referral rates for substance abuse; in a field test, 56 percent of emergency medicine patients (N=85) screened positive for risky substance use, and 42 percent of this group requested a dynamic referral

✔ Can help combat four barriers to effective substance abuse counseling and referral: forgetfulness; lack of training for using assessments; a poor understanding of counseling guidelines; and inconsistent access to up-to-date treatment and referral resources

✔ Tailored feedback reports for patients have been found to be more effective that the "one size fits all" self-help manuals

Contact us at moreinfo@polarishealth.com to learn more about the benefits you will see by using Polaris-DARSSA.

We are committed to helping you succeed in improving your outcomes.

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