Outcomes Measures and Treatment Philosophy: Tracking Patient Progress and Measuring Outcomes

The addiction treatment field is undergoing a period of rapid evolution in how it understands the critical importance of tracking patient outcomes with standardized metrics and social science research protocols that are adhered to with fidelity. While other health care sectors track standard metrics to monitor patient care and demonstrate treatment efficacy, addiction treatment providers have yet to adopt common industry metrics for tracking patient outcomes during and after treatment. And, since  10% of adults in the United Stateswill have a substance use disorder at some time in their life, improving treatment through improved measurement will demonstrate efficacy to payers, more efficiently match services to patient needs, and ultimately demonstrate the necessity of treatment for saving lives.

For the past three and a half years, our team worked closely with the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providerson a pilot study designed to test and refine best practices for conducting outcomes data collection, analysis, and reporting for addiction treatment. We worked with eight treatment facilities to collect data on long-term outcomes for patients after leaving treatment and measured key indicators such as substance use, mental health, and social support. The study resulted in the publication of the NAATP Addiction Treatment Outcomes Measurement Toolkit: The Addiction Treatment Provider Guide to Standardized Outcomes, published in a special issue of the NAATP newsletter, Addiction Leader.  

This May, our team had the honor of presenting the findings from our research at the NAATP annual leadership conference in Washington, DC.  Supporting addiction treatment providers to improve patient care through standardized outcomes evaluation aligns with OMNI’s mission of accelerating positive social change. We proudly partner with NAATP and the study pilot sites as they lead the field in defining common standards for measurement and are excited to continue to support individual treatment facilities as well as the national association as they begin implementing the Toolkit.  

If you missed us at the NAATP conference, we have another opportunity to share these important findings this week through the NAATP webinar series. We hope you will join us on Thursday, June 27 at 11:00 am Mountain Time to learn more. 

Links: 

OMNI Institute SUD Treatment Services: https://omni.org/substance-use-treatment

NAATP: https://www.naatp.org

Webinar Registration: https://www.naatp.org/training/upcoming/naatp-webinar-series-outcomes-measures-and-treatment-philosophy-tracking-patient

Addiction Treatment Outcomes Measurement Toolkit: https://www.naatp.org/sites/naatp.org/files/NAATP_Newsletter_Outcomes_FINAL.pdf