Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog

Performance-Based Contracting for Drug Rehabs

April 14, 2008 on 1:25 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Finally somebody in a government position is starting to go down the right road regarding drug rehabs and their outcomes.  A press release issued by the Treatment Research Institute in Pennsylvania posted on JoinTogether discussed the issue of performance-based contracts for drug and alcohol rehab programs.

It read: “Paying substance abuse treatment providers for results, not services, may lead to improved quality of care, according to the first published study of a novel performance-based contracting system implemented by the State of Delaware in 2002.”

The study found that this type of system greatly improved retention rate in outpatient programs, which is to be congratulated.  A new contract was also recently put in place for detoxification centers to ensure clients get signed up for some type of continuing treatment instead of stopping after detox.

These are all fantastic ideas and initial outcomes, but one of the most important outcomes still isn’t being measured - whether or not the clients remain clean and sober.  This is a step in the right direction for sure, but performance-based contracts should include whether or not the programs work, by setting standard follow-up and outcomes measuring procedures as well as benchmarks in quality of life improvement to see how effective a drug and alcohol rehab program can be.  This would be the surest way to increase the maximum return on tax dollars spent, as well as to reduce relapses and give much more hope to families sending loved ones to treatment.

Today there are some private non-profit facilities who do have their own outcomes measurement systems in place to monitor effectiveness.  These facilities pride themselves on their dedication to keeping people off of drugs, and not just seeing how long they can keep them in treatment.

You can find out more about performance-based drug and alcohol rehabs by calling us today at 1-877-421-9659 or visiting www.drug-addiction-rehab.net.