With thousands of programs and rehabs to choose from, it can be challenging to assess which addiction treatment programs offer the highest quality of care.
Assessment and Treatment Matching (Identify)
Find reliable and valid screening for a range of substance use disorders and related conditions, as well as any physical or mental health conditions.
Comprehensive, Integrated Treatment Approach (Treat)
Programs should incorporate comprehensive approaches that directly address these additional concerns, or otherwise assertively link patients to needed services.
Emphasis and assertive linkage to subsequent phases of treatment and recovery support
Programs that strongly emphasize this continuing care aspect will provide more than just phone numbers or a list of people to call, but instead, will provide assertive linkages to community resources, ongoing health care providers, peer-support groups, and recovery residences.
A dignified, Respectful, Environment
Creating a respectful and dignified environment may be particularly important for addiction patients because those suffering from substance use disorders often feel as if they’ve lost their self-respect and dignity.
Significant Other and/or Family Involvement in Treatment
Engaging significant others and loved ones in treatment increases the likelihood that the patient will stay in treatment and that treatment gains will be sustained after treatment has ended.
Employ strategies to Help Engage and Retain Patients in Treatment
Treatment programs can also work to retain patients by providing client-centered, empathic, counseling that works to build strong patient-provider relationships.
Use of Evidence-based and Evidence-informed Practices
Programs that deliver services founded on scientific research and principles and that deliver the available “best practices” tend to have better outcomes.
Qualified Staff, Ongoing Training, and Adequate Staff Supervision
Having multi-disciplinary staff (e.g., addiction, medicine, psychiatry, spirituality) can help patients uncover and address a broad array of needs that can aid addiction recovery and improve functioning and psychological well-being.
Personalized Approaches that include Specialized Populations, Gender and Cultural Competence
High-quality treatment programs identify the potentially different needs of men and women, adolescents versus adults, and those from different minority communities (e.g. LGBT) or cultural backgrounds, creating in turn, treatment and recovery plans that address their specific needs.
Measurement of Program Performance Including During-treatment “Outcomes”
A further indicator of quality treatment is having reliable, valid measurement systems in place to track patients’ responses to treatment.
External Accreditation from Nationally Recognized Quality Monitoring Agencies
Licensing and accreditation requirements serve as quality assurance that the treatment program is incorporating a certain level of evidence-based care in its model and is open to random audits of its clinical care.
