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Press Release

ORANGE – The University of California, Irvine Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine and the state Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) today unveiled a state-of-the-art alcohol screening device that is the first of its kind to be used in the identification and intervention of patients whose alcohol use places them at risk for injury and illness.

Nick-named “CASI,” the Computerized Alcohol Screening Intervention prototype is a roll-to-the-bedside “computer on wheels” kiosk able to screen patients using a touch screen that results in a personal health and safety risk assessment.

“Despite several interventions, the number of alcohol fatalities across the country continue to rise,” said Dr. Federico Vaca during a morning news conference at UC Irvine Medical Center, “By helping medical professionals identify those at risk, CASI will play an important role in impacting this major public safety issue.”

The kiosk, developed by a team of researchers in emergency medicine at UC Irvine, is the result of a $625,000 grant awarded last fall as part of the Office of Traffic Safety’s campaign to deal with the issue of impaired driving.

With over 100 million visits to emergency departments annually and patients representing the entire spectrum of alcohol-related problems, the emergency department visit offers an important opportunity for intervention with “at-risk” drinkers.

“What UC Irvine has done is develop an alcohol intervention tool that will result in early detection and a personal health and safety risk assessment,” said OTS Director Christopher J. Murphy. “We want to ensure involvement from emergency room physicians in screening and brief intervention in hopes of having more opportunities to impact impaired driving.”

Research shows that people who utilize emergency department services are in many cases at a higher risk for injuries. More than 113 million emergency room visits for all illnesses occurred in the U.S. in 2004.

Alcohol-related deaths and injuries continue to rise on California roadways, as 1,462 people were killed and 31,538 injured in 2004 (latest figures available). To combat this rise, OTS has invested in proven, results-driven programs that work, including $7 million with county probation departments to target “worst of the worst” repeat DUI offenders, and, continued work on the establishment of eight new DUI courts to increase the accountability of high risk repeat DUI offenders.

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