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133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA |
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Thomas M. Brady, PhD, Medstat, 4301 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 330, Washington, DC 20008, (202) 719-7871, thomas.brady@thomson.com
Background: Earlier studies of methadone treatment found few comprehensive services offered at opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Regulations required OTPs to combine opioid substitution therapies such as methadone maintenance with rehabilitative services to address psychological and social problems of opioid-dependent clients. In response to these studies, several initiatives were launched to improve treatment practice. It is not clear, however, if the level of services at OTPs is comparable to other addiction treatment facilities. This study compares the availability of core and ancillary services at outpatient OTPs with other outpatient facilities. Method: Data from the 2003 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), a census of current addiction treatment facilities (n=13,623), were used. Outpatient OTPs that did not offer maintenance therapies (only detoxification services) were excluded (n=61). Core and ancillary services at the remaining outpatient OTPs (n=911) were compared to outpatient non-OTP facilities (n=9,921). Findings: Between outpatient OTPs and non-OTP facilities, the availability of individual therapy and comprehensive substance abuse assessments were similar. Non-OTPs (90.3 percent) were more likely than OTPs (77.2 percent) to provide group therapy. Only 26.3 percent of OTPs offered comprehensive mental health assessments compared to 49.1 percent of non-OTPs. OTPs were more likely to offer drug testing urine screens, employment counseling, case management, and HIV or AIDS education, counseling or support services. Discussion: The availability of many core and ancillary services at OTPs is similar and in some instances superior to non-OTPs. The lack of mental health assessments at OTPs, however, may be a cause for concern.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Methodology
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.
The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA