Background: As part of a broader study of the costs of medical care following alcohol and drug treatment, we examined treatment outcomes among patients receiving specialty substance abuse treatment services in Kaiser Permanente Northwest. Methods: Baseline interviews were conducted with 311 persons shortly after their intake assessment visits. Six months later, telephone follow-up interviews were completed with 275 (88%) of the participants. We calculated change between baseline and follow-up in the composite scores from the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in 7 domains (alcohol use, other drug use, psychiatric status, family and social relationships, employment status, medical conditions, and legal status) and examined predictors of improvement in each. Results: At baseline, 34% of the participants were female; the mean age was 38.3 years (SD=10.2); 10% were African American, 83% were white, and the remaining 7% reported other ethnic affiliations. Alcohol was the most commonly reported problem substance (59%). Preliminary analyses (based on t-tests to determine if each change score differed from zero) indicate that participants improved in all 7 ASI indices, and that improvement in the alcohol index was positively correlated with better outcomes in the family/social, psychiatric, and legal status indices. Additional regression analyses will evaluate the relative contributions of sociodemographic characteristics, type and severity of substance abuse problems, and treatment participation in predicting improvement in each domain of the ASI. Conclusions: These results suggest that many clients experience improvements in multiple domains within 6 months. If maintained, these improvements may contribute to reduced subsequent use of medical care.
Keywords: Alcohol, Treatment Outcomes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Kaiser Permanente
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: employer