Mar 18, 2016
The National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) announced the addiction industry's new study to measure the efficacy of addiction treatment consisting of comprehensive national data. The study will track patient outcomes from multiple residential and outpatient addiction treatment programs. It will be conducted by NAATP, together with the research firm OMNI Institute and will provide unique cross-program comparison, compilation, and analysis.
The research team will collect a large data sample of over 1000 patients, following outcomes from baseline to discharge and at five time points for one year after discharge from treatment. Outcome influences will be measured including detoxification process, patient engagement, medication, psychological and psychiatric care, education and addiction counseling received, peer and family support, economics, and twelve step activity. An initial draft of the study is expected in the second quarter of 2017.
Study Objectives
The data, derived from the instrument created by Norman Hoffman, Ph.D., will provide benchmarks for not only abstinence but also mental health and after care.
Study objectives include compilation of the outcome data for peer reviewed journal publication and creation of a replication protocol that will be made available for NAATP member providers to use in their treatment centers.
This study is imperative in order to inform our work as treatment providers and to validate the successes that we have. The industry lacks this information and this study is seminal in terms of its outcomes measures, cross program data, and scientific rigor. I applaud the fine centers that have stepped forward to serve as pilot sites.
We, as an addiction treatment industry, know that treatment works and saves lives but we must demonstrate this and gain new information. We must also do it in a fashion that has scrutiny and fidelity and is not connected to a payer or business development motive. This is not a customer survey; it is much bigger than that.
- Marvin Ventrell
The study, which includes strong fidelity protocols, reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), will be driven by OMNI Institute Senior Researcher Holen Hirsh, Ph.D. and managed by NAATP Outcomes & Surveys Manager, Jessica Swan, NCACII, CACIII.
Data will be collected under the supervision of OMNI staff through the following treatment center pilot site participants. The pilot participants are all successful, highly regarded treatment programs that represent a broad sampling of addiction treatment patients.
