Automating addiction treatment: enhancing the human experience and creating a fix for the future.
The country's system of providing treatment for people struggling with addiction requires a fundamental overhaul. To address these daunting problems, a group of experts from outside the addiction field met in an intensive retreat and envisioned a new future for addiction treatment that would use the latest available technology. Retreat leaders employed creative techniques to help free up thinking beyond incremental improvement ideas. Current and former addicts or alcoholics and family members also attended the retreat to provide the panelists with a real-world understanding of their lives. Through this process, the panelists generated eight idea categories that visualized future treatments for addiction using technology. They were: (1) Integrated System and Record; (2) Monitoring/Treatment; (3) Virtual Experiences; (4) Treatment Access and "One Stop Shop"; (5) Networks; (6) Tailored Media Campaigns; (7) Diagnostic Tools; and (8) Help for Family. Two stories illustrate how these ideas could help a heroin addict and an alcoholic. The sponsors plan another meeting to bring these visionary concepts closer to real application.
Gustafson
David H
DH
Network for Improvement of Addiction Treatment, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
Palesh
Tara E
TE
Picard
Rosalind W
RW
Plsek
Paul E
PE
Maher
Lynne
L
Capoccia
Victor A
VA
D001331:Automation; D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000379:methods*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008402:Mass Media; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012944:Social Support; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014584:User-Computer Interface