Remission from alcohol and other drug problem use in public and private treatment samples over seven years.
BACKGROUND
The treatment of alcohol and other drugs is now more commonly framed in terms of a chronic condition which requires ongoing monitoring. A model which includes continuing access to health care may optimize outcomes. Most studies of chronic care models have not included health care and have only examined short term effects.


METHODS
The sample (n = 783) included consecutive admissions in ten public and private alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment programs followed over seven years. The outcome was remission which was defined as alcohol and drug abstinence or non-problem use.


RESULTS
In the private sample, receiving health care services predicted remission across the seven years; however this did not occur in the public sample. More patients in the public treatment sample received AOD treatment readmissions each year, while more of those in the private sector received psychiatric and general health visits. Except for drug problem severity, there were no other clinical differences between the samples. There were no differences in the proportions of patients in the two sectors who received the full spectrum of chronic care services. In the final models, 12-step participation was markedly significant for both samples.


CONCLUSIONS
Models of chronic care for substance use need to consider differences between private and public treatment and should take into account that individuals may not always have access, or avail themselves of services that may optimize long-term outcomes.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States. kdelucchi@lppi.ucsf.edu
Kevin L
KL
Delucchi
Andrea H
AH
Kline Simon
Constance
C
Weisner
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome