May 10, 2024
With the current severity and urgency of the addiction crisis in the US, our health care system must demonstrate the ability to broadly and effectively help people recover from Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). The Foundation for Recovery Science and Education (FoRSE), a nonprofit organization developed by the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), was created to examine the impact of addiction treatment of all types, across all settings, and across the country. FoRSE has now published its second annual report summarizing treatment outcome data from over 80 treatment centers across the country. Highlighted findings include lower levels of SUD symptoms and higher quality of life among people who spend more than 30 days in treatment.
NAATP, a professional membership society of health care providers with over 1,000 treatment and recovery support locations in the US, created FoRSE to raise the bar in addiction healthcare and position it alongside other medical diseases. In response to the slow progress of the healthcare system to meet the growing needs of over 48 million Americans with SUDs, this group has come together to work in collaboration to measure treatment effectiveness and the quality of services. While several legitimate efforts exist to address the addiction crisis, no other program is similarly dedicated to addressing root causes, consequences, and solutions, without which there will not be a sustainable healthcare response.
The FoRSE Addiction Treatment Outcomes Program maintains a database of de-identified data, with a growing sample of over 300,000 unique patient treatment episodes from more than 100 facilities spanning 25 states. The participating facilities represent a combination of business structures, scopes of service, varied payment sources (e.g., private insurance, Medicaid, self-pay) and treatment offerings and approach (e.g., medication, Twelve Step, recovery support). All providers collect data from patients that assess current substance use, mental health symptoms, and quality of life over time. FoRSE’s unique Application Programming Interface (API) accepts de-identified data from nearly all types of data collection tools, making it convenient and cost effective to participate. Recognizing the significance of racial, ethnic, and other disparities in healthcare, FoRSE includes measurement of demographics and health-related social needs.
The FoRSE program is a groundbreaking initiative in healthcare, particularly significant within the SUD domain. It represents the collaboration of over one hundred treatment centers working together with health technology partners – including electronic medical record companies such as Alleva, Kipu, Lightning Step, Sigmund Software, and Sunwave – to streamline the complex landscape of health data into actionable insights for the field and the public. Notably, data are fully de-identified before being shared with FoRSE, safeguarding patient privacy and confidentiality.
The aim of the new report is to provide a summary of the characteristics of the patients served, the nature and duration of services provided, and the outcomes observed during and after services. Highlighted findings include reductions in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and SUD over the course of treatment and throughout the first year of follow-up. Among key findings, the data suggest that people who spend more than 30 days in treatment report lower post-treatment substance use and higher overall quality of life. Next steps for FoRSE include establishing research partnerships to further examine the data and answer questions about patient characteristics and treatment types that predict sustained recovery.
“Following the release of this summary report, FoRSE will provide individualized reports to each participating treatment center, giving them insight into the effectiveness of their programs compared with other providers across the country,” says FoRSE Executive Director, Dr. Annie Peters. “We have to be able to show patients and families that recovery is possible with the right kind of help, and we need a data program at this scale to advocate for more people to get the services they need.”
The FoRSE program launched with the support of FoRSE Board of Directors and a prestigious group of donors who are themselves dedicated to the work. Please see a complete list of contributors on the FoRSE Donor Recognition Wall.
FoRSE is a nonprofit charitable IRS 501(c)(3) organization supported by treatment providers, universities, corporate gifts, charitable foundations, and individual gifts. Participation in FoRSE may include program participation, partnerships, and financial contributions. Gifts to FoRSE are fully tax deductible.
The report, titled The FoRSE 2024 Annual Summary, will be released nationally this month at NAATP’s 45th National Addiction Leadership Conference.
