In relation to problematic alcohol consumption, doctors traditionally have focused on the alcoholic patient, leaving second place to the hazardous drinker. Paying more attention to the hazardous drinker as a way of detecting the problem in its early stages can be a valuable tool in improving preventive activity in primary care. In fact, one of the priorities of WHO in this field is to shift the medical interest towards the hazardous drinker, although this concept is not yet too widespread in primary care. There are several explanations for this; for example, medical students receive little training in this area. In a study by Stine et al. (2000), 22.8% of newly graduated doctors considered the education they received in prevention and screening to be inadequate, and did not feel well prepared in this area.
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