Using Innovative Video Doctor Technology in Primary Care to Deliver Brief Smoking and Alcohol Intervention

Abstract

Given physicians' increased responsibilities and time constraints, it is increasingly difficult for primary care physicians to assume a major role in delivering smoking and alcohol assessment and intervention. The authors developed an innovative use of computer technology in the form of a "video doctor" to support physicians with this. In this article, two brief interventions, delivered by an interactive, multimedia video doctor, that reduce primary care patients' smoking and alcohol use are detailed: (a) a patient-centered advice message and (b) a brief motivational intervention. The authors are testing the use of the video doctor to deliver these interventions in a randomized, controlled study, Project Choice. A pilot study testing the feasibility and acceptability of the video doctor suggests it was well received and accepted by patients (n = 52) and potentially provides an innovative, cost-effective, and practical way to support providers' efforts to reduce smoking and alcohol use in primary care populations.

A pilot replication of QUIT, a randomized controlled trial of a brief intervention for reducing risky drug use, among Latino primary care patients

“…Clinicians also told patients that they would receive telephone calls 2 and 6 weeks later from a health educator. Patients subsequently received a Drug Health Education Booklet with a Report Card for their HSD, and viewed a video doctor (2 minutes) reinforcing the clinician message (Gerbert et al, 2003; Gerbert et al, 2006; Gilbert et al, 2008). Patients were enrolled on their HSD, and it was that drug that the clinician (and health educator) focused on (even if they scored higher for alcohol); they would also briefly mention the benefits of reducing risky use of alcohol or tobacco if the patient screened positive on the ASSIST for risky use of these substances.…”

Review of Clinical Trials Testing the Effectiveness of Physician Approaches to Improving Alcohol Education and Counseling in Adolescent Outpatients

“…Of the original publications identified using the search techniques, five were excluded because they contained no patient outcomes [12][13][14][15][16], two were excluded because they were qualitative studies [17,18], seven were excluded because the sample was too old [19][20][21][22][23][24][25], eight were not clinical interventions [7,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32], and three studies did not include the physician as an interventionist [29,33,34]. The search resulted in ten publications that met the search criteria.…”

Innovative approaches to intervention for problem drinking

“…Methods that can reduce reliance on GP time and are appealing to patients have considerable potential. Gerbert et al [21 ] sought to assist busy physicians in identifying and treating alcohol disorders. Patients were invited to interact with a 'video doctor', a program operated from a laptop computer.…”