Cage

Cage App

The Cage application is a mobile screening tool that can be used by physicians and healthcare professionals to identify signs of substance abuse in patients.

Description

CAGE is an acronym for four important questions that can indicate drug or alcohol abuse patterns.

Cut down - Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking or drug use?

Annoyed - Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking or drug use?

Guilty - Have you every felt guilty about your drinking or drug use?

Eye opener - Have you ever taken a drink or used drugs first thing in the

morning to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover? (Eye opener)

The Cage application works by assigning each of the four questions a point value.

Each No answer receives a score of 0, while Yes answers are given 1 point. Once all four questions have been asked and the appropriate scores entered, the Cage application will tally the numbers for a total score.A total score of 2 or higher indicates the patient has a substance abuse problem. However, it is advisable that patients who score even 1 point be further evaluated for drug or alcohol dependency issues.