UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has been selected by Pennsylvania state officials to increase access to Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for adolescents across Pennsylvania.  SMART Choices is a Learning Collaborative designed to train primary care and behavioral health providers to screen adolescents for substance use and provide appropriate interventions.  Validated screening tools are used to determine the adolescent’s frequency of substance use and probability of developing a substance use disorder (SUD).  SMART Choices Learning Collaborative participants are trained to provide brief advice or brief intervention, when indicated, and to provide referrals to adolescents who need specialty substance use treatment. 

The SMART Choices Learning Collaborative is one year in length and requires each participating practice to self-identify a Quality Improvement Team (QIT).  QIT members participate in three in-person trainings and one group phone call per month. QITs complete Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles monthly and review their progress during the group phone calls.  Certified SBIRT trainers facilitate each call and provide support to the QITs.