Determinants of hospital-based substance abuse treatment programs.
Experts agree that treatment is the best solution to substance abuse problems. As the societywide problem of drug and alcohol dependence increases, so does the need for treatment programs. Research has shown that many hospitals have entered into the substance abuse treatment program business because a need for quality programs exists and because an alcohol and a substance abuse treatment product line has the potential for increasing sagging revenues. This article addresses the question of what types of hospitals are likely to engage in providing inpatient and/or outpatient treatment programs. The results indicate that organizational size (measured by the number of beds) is the best predictor of treatment service provision for both inpatient and outpatient settings, with larger hospitals being more likely to provide substance abuse programs. A need for additional chemical dependency treatment programs does not appear to be the primary motivating factor for hospitals developing this service. Rather, it seems hospitals provide these programs for other reasons--as part of providing a full array of services, as an average toward achieving organizational goals, as a means of sustaining a competitive advantage, or as a strategy for maintaining the same level of service as the competition.
Division of Health Administration, Governors State University, University Park, IL 60466.
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D003625:Data Collection; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004465:Economic Competition; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006752:Hospital Planning / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011357:Product Line Management / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States