The recent vision for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment has shifted towards an integrated approach.
The recent vision for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment has shifted towards an integrated approach.
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This study used data from the National Treatment Center Study (NTCS) which is a longitudinal study of treatment organizations that receive a majority of payments from a fee-for-service model. To evaluate changes over time, this study used data from 274 treatment centers that participated in the survey in both 2007-2008 and 2009-2010. Measures of interest included medical staff hours per week, provision of medications for substance use disorder (SUD), and changes in the number of employees over time.
NOTABLY FROM THE STUDY:
Factors related to increased medical staffing included:
While results are not directly related to recovery, an increase in medical staff utilization over time is an indicator of a shift toward an integrated, recovery oriented system of care that likely offers both pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for substance use disorder (SUD). While it is unknown if increasing medical staff improves substance use outcomes, treatment centers at least may have a greater ability to address the medical and psychosocial needs of their patients.
Although SSRIs may be a commonly prescribed medication, this study adds to the body of literature suggesting:
a) they are not effective in helping reduce alcohol consumption among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD)
b) they may not be effective in reducing depressive symptoms for this group of patients either.
Integrating addiction treatment with primary care and other essential services (i.e., mental health care, HIV screening, legal/financial services) presents an ideal framework. Rather than an adjunct to overall care, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in combination with these other services would increase the ability of providers to identify patients with SUDs and efficiently link them to the necessary care.
Increasing the involvement of medical staff in treatment centers is aligned with the disease model of addiction.
More research is needed to determine if increasing medical staff results in improved substance use outcomes for patients. Since having physicians on staff can be expensive for treatment centers, it is important to determine if other clinicians, such as nurses or physician assistants, can effectively perform the same tasks.
Fields, D., & Roman, P. (2015). Longitudinal examination of medical staff utilization in substance use disorder treatment organizations. J Subst Abuse Treat. doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2015.06.014
l
This study used data from the National Treatment Center Study (NTCS) which is a longitudinal study of treatment organizations that receive a majority of payments from a fee-for-service model. To evaluate changes over time, this study used data from 274 treatment centers that participated in the survey in both 2007-2008 and 2009-2010. Measures of interest included medical staff hours per week, provision of medications for substance use disorder (SUD), and changes in the number of employees over time.
NOTABLY FROM THE STUDY:
Factors related to increased medical staffing included:
While results are not directly related to recovery, an increase in medical staff utilization over time is an indicator of a shift toward an integrated, recovery oriented system of care that likely offers both pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for substance use disorder (SUD). While it is unknown if increasing medical staff improves substance use outcomes, treatment centers at least may have a greater ability to address the medical and psychosocial needs of their patients.
Although SSRIs may be a commonly prescribed medication, this study adds to the body of literature suggesting:
a) they are not effective in helping reduce alcohol consumption among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD)
b) they may not be effective in reducing depressive symptoms for this group of patients either.
Integrating addiction treatment with primary care and other essential services (i.e., mental health care, HIV screening, legal/financial services) presents an ideal framework. Rather than an adjunct to overall care, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in combination with these other services would increase the ability of providers to identify patients with SUDs and efficiently link them to the necessary care.
Increasing the involvement of medical staff in treatment centers is aligned with the disease model of addiction.
More research is needed to determine if increasing medical staff results in improved substance use outcomes for patients. Since having physicians on staff can be expensive for treatment centers, it is important to determine if other clinicians, such as nurses or physician assistants, can effectively perform the same tasks.
Fields, D., & Roman, P. (2015). Longitudinal examination of medical staff utilization in substance use disorder treatment organizations. J Subst Abuse Treat. doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2015.06.014
l
This study used data from the National Treatment Center Study (NTCS) which is a longitudinal study of treatment organizations that receive a majority of payments from a fee-for-service model. To evaluate changes over time, this study used data from 274 treatment centers that participated in the survey in both 2007-2008 and 2009-2010. Measures of interest included medical staff hours per week, provision of medications for substance use disorder (SUD), and changes in the number of employees over time.
NOTABLY FROM THE STUDY:
Factors related to increased medical staffing included:
While results are not directly related to recovery, an increase in medical staff utilization over time is an indicator of a shift toward an integrated, recovery oriented system of care that likely offers both pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for substance use disorder (SUD). While it is unknown if increasing medical staff improves substance use outcomes, treatment centers at least may have a greater ability to address the medical and psychosocial needs of their patients.
Although SSRIs may be a commonly prescribed medication, this study adds to the body of literature suggesting:
a) they are not effective in helping reduce alcohol consumption among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD)
b) they may not be effective in reducing depressive symptoms for this group of patients either.
Integrating addiction treatment with primary care and other essential services (i.e., mental health care, HIV screening, legal/financial services) presents an ideal framework. Rather than an adjunct to overall care, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in combination with these other services would increase the ability of providers to identify patients with SUDs and efficiently link them to the necessary care.
Increasing the involvement of medical staff in treatment centers is aligned with the disease model of addiction.
More research is needed to determine if increasing medical staff results in improved substance use outcomes for patients. Since having physicians on staff can be expensive for treatment centers, it is important to determine if other clinicians, such as nurses or physician assistants, can effectively perform the same tasks.
Fields, D., & Roman, P. (2015). Longitudinal examination of medical staff utilization in substance use disorder treatment organizations. J Subst Abuse Treat. doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2015.06.014