Alcohol use disorder: Change can start with questions from a doctor

Stop in for your annual physical, and you may be asked some version of this question: How much alcohol do you consume most weeks? Or maybe, how many days over the last week did you have a drink? Or even just: Do you drink at all?

Most doctors agree that asking about alcohol consumption — and assessing whether drinking is interfering with physical and mental well-being — is an essential part of a checkup. And there are evidence-backed tools to talk about alcohol use, even at a 15-minute appointment. Yet alcohol screening and counseling are too often compressed or skipped during primary care visits, studies suggest.

This gap is costing patients and the health care system a great deal. Excessive alcohol use — beyond one drink a day for women or two for men —  is known to cause or worsen dozens of diseases and shorten lifespans. Even moderate use has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, hypertension, liver damage, and other conditions.