# A Telehealth Intervention to Increase Screening and Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

> **NIH NIH R44** · RIA TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT INC. · 2024 · $943,481

## Abstract

Abstract
 Ria Health is a nationally scaling early-stage telemedicine and technology company that
treats alcohol use disorder with a combination of objective measures of drinking (twice daily
breathalyzer measures through our app), physician-supervised medications, and group and
individual coaching - the Ria Treatment Platform. Ria has enrolled more than 4,500 patients,
is available in 45 states, and is covered by major insurers. Ria has accumulated more than
300K breathalyzer measures from enrolled patients that demonstrate a reduction in alcohol
use of 50% at 1 month and 75% at 12 months. Mean retention in treatment is 10 months.
 The incidence and burdens of alcohol-associated liver disease are growing. There are no
automated methods that screen specifically for early alcohol-associated liver disease. In this
project we will use a large electronic health record system (Epic at Stanford University
Health) to identify patients with elevated liver function tests who are at increased risk for
occult alcohol use disorder. A feasibility analysis of Epic records at Stanford identified
>56,460 adult patients with elevated liver function tests (AST, ALT, GGT) who could be
screened for this study. Patients with elevated liver function tests will be invited by an “honest
broker” to be screened for alcohol use disorder and, if alcohol use disorder is present, to
receive treatment through Ria.
 We hypothesize that patients with alcohol use disorder and elevated liver function tests
who would otherwise not seek treatment will be motivated to engage in treatment. We will
conduct a randomized wait-list controlled study in 124 subjects to demonstrate the efficacy of
the Ria Treatment Platform. A comprehensive set of outcome measures will be assessed, with
percent of subjects without heavy drinking in the final 4 weeks defined as the primary
outcome.
 The project has several innovative features. It is the first to use mass screening of a
large electronic health records system to identify potential cases of alcohol use disorder with
abnormal liver function tests and to engage them in treatment. Given the morbidity and
mortality of alcohol use disorder, new methods to identify and engage these patients earlier
are urgently needed. We will also conduct the first randomized controlled trial of the Ria
Treatment Platform, providing crucial validation for payers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10924029
- **Project number:** 5R44AA030702-03
- **Recipient organization:** RIA TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN E. MENDELSON
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $943,481
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10924029

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10924029, A Telehealth Intervention to Increase Screening and Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder (5R44AA030702-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10924029. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*