Proportion of alcohol use disorder diagnoses in electronic health records documented with stigmatized descriptors: a comparison across race, ethnicity, and sex.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

In a sample of patients with diagnosed alcohol use disorder (AUD), we examined the prevalence of both stigmatizing (eg, "alcohol abuse") and highly stigmatizing, non-medical descriptors (eg, "alcoholic") documented in electronic health records (EHRs). We also assessed whether the use of these terms-entered by clinicians when documenting AUD using search tools and picklists-varied across patient subgroups within a regional health system.

Study design

Cross-sectional study.

Measurements

This study used EHR data from AUD diagnoses documented (January 3, 2015-May 5, 2023) for adult primary care patients identified as Asian, Black, Latine, or White. Four researchers classified AUD descriptors used to diagnose AUD as "stigmatizing" or "highly stigmatizing." Stigm

SUBMITTER: Ellis RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12629533 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature