When to ask for help or refer a person with a disorder of substance use or addictive behaviour

Seeking specialist advice is encouraged for any aspect of care for people experiencing harm or at risk of harm from substance use or addictive behaviours. Sources of expert advice include specialists in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry or general psychiatry, nurse practitioners and clinical psychologists.

For sources of clinical advice by phone and service referral details for patients with disorders of substance use, see Contact details for substance use clinical advisory services for clinicians.

For advice on managing or referring patients with gambling disorder, clinicians can contact specialist gambling treatment services in some areas. In all states and territories, gambling support services advise patients directly but also welcome contact from clinicians to source help for patients.

Advice on managing patients with gaming disorder is most likely to be available from an expert in adolescent mental health (eg psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, nurse practitioner); see Support services and specialist treatment for gaming disorder.

Referral is encouraged for patients with complex needs, including complicated physical health concerns (eg severe liver disease) or any other problems that may impact adequate patient care. Indications for urgent referral include suicide risk and other urgent safety concerns (eg overdose).

People can benefit from their specialist(s) and usual clinician(s) working collaboratively to formulate a chronic disease management plan. Communication between prescribers is important to co-ordinate prescribing and avoid excess or missed supply; either one practitioner does all the prescribing or there is an agreement about which medications each practitioner will prescribe. Real-time prescription monitoring systems do not monitor all drugs, and the range of drugs monitored varies between systems.