What does TAPS cover?
TAPS stands for Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription medication, and other Substance use. The first part asks about the past year. Relevant follow-up questions focus on recent use and concerns during the past three months.
TAPS · SUBSTANCE USE SCREENING
A private look at substance use.
Reflect on tobacco, alcohol, prescription medication misuse and other substance use. Get a starting point for a conversation, without judgment.
4 opening questions + follow-upsAdults 18+No email required
Time depends on your answers. Follow-up questions appear only for the relevant categories.
Please confirm you are 18 or older and choose an alcohol-question option.
Your substance use screening
Show all displays the current part. Follow-up questions appear as needed.
YOUR TAPS RESULTS · PRIVATE ON THIS DEVICE
Your next step starts with a conversation.
There is no combined TAPS score. Each substance has its own result. These results are not a diagnosis, a safety assessment or a measure of how severe a disorder is.
Your answers and scores are not attached to the request.
You can seek help at any score, including when current use has stopped or past problems still affect you. The tool may miss concerns.
How are results interpreted?
Part 1 asks about the past 12 months and selects relevant follow-ups. Part 2 asks about the past 3 months. Each Yes in a scored section contributes one point: 0–4 for alcohol and 0–3 for other scored substances. A No to its opening use question skips that section’s remaining items. Other drugs are discussed without a numeric score.
A score of 1 deserves a conversation; 2 or more supports further assessment. For heroin, prescription opioid misuse and other drug categories, even a score of 1 warrants further assessment. These are screening indicators, not diagnoses or severity labels. Tobacco follow-ups focus on cigarettes and do not fully assess vaping or smokeless tobacco. Alcohol follow-ups may be skipped when the opening drinking-threshold question is Never; this does not mean no alcohol use.
You can stop here.
Your answers have been cleared. No result was calculated. You can still request support.
Urgent concerns should not wait for a result.
If someone cannot be awakened, has slow or stopped breathing, has a seizure, or is severely confused, call 911 now. Do not wait for an appointment callback.
Stopping alcohol or some medications suddenly can cause dangerous withdrawal. Speak with a healthcare professional before making changes; this tool cannot provide a detox or medication plan. Answers on this page are not monitored.
How are my answers handled?
Answers, alcohol-question selection, optional text and results stay in this page’s memory. They are not saved in browser storage or sent to WordPress, analytics, GoHighLevel or our care team. Clear, reload or leave to remove them. The appointment form is separate and has its own data handling.
What if I am worried about prescribed medication?
The medication questions ask about use that was not as prescribed or medicines not prescribed for you. If you are experiencing side effects or concerns while taking medication as directed, discuss those with your prescriber even if this screen does not flag a concern.
Instrument source and attribution
TAPS Tool, NIDA Clinical Trials Network. English self-administered Web Version 2.0; 4.00; 09-19-17. Original item wording and substance-specific scoring are retained. The optional alcohol omission produces no alcohol result. Optional other-drug text is not scored. This presentation does not imply NIDA endorsement.
NIDA instrument description · AHRQ public-domain listing · McNeely et al., 2016: validation research