Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription medications, and other Substance use Tool (TAPS)

About the TAPS Tool

Developed through a NIDA-supported research initiative, the TAPS Tool integrates a brief screener (TAPS-1) with a more detailed assessment (TAPS-2) if initial risk is identified. It assesses past-year and past-3-month use across a range of substances, including tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, prescription stimulants, sedatives, and opioids. The tool supports SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) workflows in busy clinical environments.

It is appropriate for use with adults aged 18 and older.

Psychometric Properties

The TAPS Tool has been validated in U.S. primary care populations and shows good sensitivity and specificity for detecting problem substance use and moderate-to-severe substance use disorders.

• TAPS-1: High sensitivity for any past-year use
• TAPS-2: Differentiates substance use risk by frequency and impact
• Good agreement with Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) as a reference standard

Source: McNeely et al., 2016; McNeely et al., 2017

The Scale

TAPS-1 includes 4 initial yes/no questions about past 12-month use of:

• Tobacco
• Alcohol
• Prescription medications (used non-medically)
• Other drugs

If any “yes” is endorsed, TAPS-2 follows with frequency-based questions for the past 3 months, asking how often each substance was used and whether use affected responsibilities or safety.

HiBoop implements TAPS as a two-stage experience:

• Stage 1 (TAPS-1): Rapid screen, 4–5 substance categories
• Stage 2 (TAPS-2): Auto-triggered for substances endorsed in TAPS-1, with brief follow-up questions on use severity and impact

Each substance category produces a risk score from 0 to 3:

HiBoop highlights risk levels per substance and supports clinician filtering (e.g., show all clients with opioid risk ≥2).

References