Clinicians should accurately record patients’ alcohol use, NICE advises

Doctors should ensure that information taken about patients’ alcohol intake is added to a validated questionnaire to identify if they need help, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised.

A new draft quality standard1 sets out priority areas for improvement for the care of adults with alcohol use disorders, and includes a statement about accurately recording alcohol use.

It said that thousands of people each year could be missing out on brief interventions to help …