Where to refer employees for treatment of drinking problems. The limited lessons from empirical research.

Although employee assistance programs appear to be spreading rapidly, much remains to be discovered about how they should proceed. A critical review of the literature undergirding these programs reveals wide gaps in knowledge about the relative efficacy of a variety of alternative strategies. In particular, empirical data on the question of where to refer employees for treatment of drinking problems are urgently needed. As medical scientists with ties to industry, occupational health professionals can play a decisive role in the articulation of central research questions and in the design and implementation of key studies that will begin to yield the blueprint for an efficient and effective system of care for alcohol problems.