How to ask about drug use
Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.
Drug use questions belong in every history. Neutral wording and confidentiality keep patients safe and honest.
Step by step
Explain confidentiality
Say why you ask and that it stays in medical care. [1]
Which substances
Cannabis, opioids, stimulants, sedatives, prescription drugs not as prescribed. [2]
How and how often
Route (smoking, snorting, injecting), frequency, amount, last use. [2]
Injection safety
Shared needles, infections, abscesses, hepatitis and HIV testing. [2]
Overdose
Past overdoses and naloxone at home. [3]
Impact and withdrawal
Work, family, legal, withdrawal symptoms. [2]
Readiness and plan
Ask about goals and offer treatment and harm reduction. [4]
Common errors
- Judging the patient.
- Not offering naloxone.
- Forgetting prescription misuse.
Practice it in Making Synapses
In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.
Making Synapses cases that train this skill
- Opioid overdose in the waiting room
- Opioid withdrawal after surgery
- Suicide attempt by overdose
- Unknown overdose (tricyclic)
- Stimulant overdose
- Beta-blocker overdose
12 Making Synapses cases train this skill: open the case library
Sources
- AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs)
- NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
- NASEMSO National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines
- AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit (Teach-Back)
- NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations
Facts and steps follow NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations; NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.