PPW Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)

Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW) Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for youth and young adults is a more holistic option for providing SBIRT in school, community, and healthcare settings.

PPW-SBIRT is a whole-health and prevention and early intervention-focused strategy that targets substance use/misuse prevention intervention  (e.g., alcohol, e-cigarette, marijuana, opioids, and others) but also promotes healthy lifestyle behaviors (i.e., physical activity, healthy nutrition, sleep, and stress control) known to enhance mental and physical wellbeing.

PPW-SBIRT includes the validated CRAFFT screening tool or ASSIST-Lite screener for adults allowing the provider to implement PPW SBIRT as both a universal prevention and health intervention for all youth/adults while identifying higher-risk individuals for referral to treatment.

PPW-SBIRT can be implemented in school-based health centers, behavioral health organizations, substance abuse treatment settings, college health and wellness centers, military bases, walk-in clinics providing school and sport physical examinations and wellness check-ups, and organizations and agencies providing regular prevention and SBIRT services.  

PPW-SBIRT is an enhanced SBIRT that provides all individuals with an evidence-based prevention intervention aimed at reducing risk for substance use/misuse and promoting protective healthy behaviors to enhance overall mental health, wellbeing and performance in school, work, and life.

Funding SBIRT

SBIRT is a USPSTF-approved service for adults, is included in the NCQA performance measure set for insurers and is part of the essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act.

A recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that screening and brief interventions like SBIRT are mostly paid through grant funding and public and commercial insurance; school-based settings use a range of approaches including grants, public insurance and other public funding¹.

SAMHSA provides information about coding for reimbursing SBIRT services: https://www.samhsa.gov/sbirt/coding-reimbursement#:~:text=Reimbursement%20for%20screening%20and%20brief,insurance%2C%20Medicare%2C%20and%20Medicaid 

For questions about providing or funding PPW-SBIRT: info@preventionpluswellness.com or call us: (904) 472-5022. 

¹Reif S, Brolin M, Beyene TM, D'Agostino N, Stewart MT, Horgan CM. Payment and Financing for Substance Use Screening and Brief Intervention for Adolescents and Adults in Health, School, and Community Settings. J Adolesc Health. 2022 Oct;71(4S):S73-S82. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.04.012. PMID: 36122974; PMCID: PMC9945348