Indicator Description
Consumer oriented, quality treatment programs encourage more people to seek treatment and provide better outcomes for all who get treatment in their communities.

To measure aspects of the quality of treatment, you can use indicators such as the average length of stay in treatment, the percentage of clients completing treatment, and the use of aftercare plans.

What to Measure

• Average and median length of stay for each treatment modality (residential, outpatient, et cetra.).
• Average and median length of stay by primary substance at admission.
• Reason for discharge.
• Status of completion (completed, transferred, not complete) by treatment modality.
• Percent of patients discharged with employment, housing, family support, and a follow-up plan.

Where to Find Local Data

• SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies provides length of stay and completion rate data by state.
• Contact local treatment facilities for their rates.

Interpretation Guidelines

• Quality treatment is lacking in many communities. If part of your community strategy is to increase treatment, it is important to develop and implement a quality improvement agenda that draws upon current scientific research and applies general medical quality measures to the area of drug and alcohol treatment

Resources

Join Together. Substance Abuse: Improving the Quality of Treatment, Join Together Action Kit, 2002.

Join Together. Rewarding Results: Improving the Quality of Treatment for People with Alcohol and Drug Problems, Recommendations from a National Policy Panel, 2003.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide, October 1999.

Treatment Completion by Type of Service in the United States, 2000
Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The DASIS Report: Treatment Completion in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), January 30, 2003.