Examining attrition rates at one specialty addiction treatment provider in the United States: a case study using a retrospective chart review.

BACKGROUND: Engaging individuals who have a substance use disorder (SUD) in treatment continues to be a challenge for the specialty addiction treatment field. Research has consistently revealed high rates of missed appointments at each step of the enrollment process: 1. between calling for services and assessment, 2. between assessment and enrollment, and 3. between enrollment and completion of treatment. Extensive research has examined each step of the process; however, there is limited research examining the overall attrition rate across all steps. METHODS: A single case study of a specialty addiction treatment agency was used to examine the attrition rates across the first three steps of the enrollment process. Attrition rates were tracked between August 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012. The cohort included 1822 unique individuals who made an initial request for addiction treatment services. Monthly retrospective reviews of medical records, phone logs, and billing data were used to calculate attrition rates. Attrition rates reported in the literature were collected and compared to the rates found at the target agency. RESULTS: Median time between request for treatment and assessment was 6 days (mean 7.5) and between assessment and treatment enrollment was 8 days (mean 12.5). An overall attrition rate of 80% was observed, including 45% between call and assessment, 32% between assessment and treatment enrollment (another 17% could not be determined), and 37% left or were removed from treatment before 30 days. Women were less likely to complete 30 days of treatment compared to men. No other demographics were related to attrition rates. DISCUSSION: One out of every five people who requested treatment completed a minimum of 30 days of a treatment. The attrition rate was high, yet similar to rates noted in the literature. Limitations of the single case study are noted. CONCLUSION: Attrition rates in the U.S. are high with approximately 75% to 80% of treatment seekers disengaging at one of the multiple stages of the enrollment and treatment process. Significant changes in the system are needed to improve engagement rates.

A smartphone application to support recovery from alcoholism: a randomized clinical trial.

IMPORTANCE: Patients leaving residential treatment for alcohol use disorders are not typically offered evidence-based continuing care, although research suggests that continuing care is associated with better outcomes. A smartphone-based application could provide effective continuing care. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients leaving residential treatment for alcohol use disorders with a smartphone application to support recovery have fewer risky drinking days than control patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: An unmasked randomized clinical trial involving 3 residential programs operated by 1 nonprofit treatment organization in the Midwestern United States and 2 residential programs operated by 1 nonprofit organization in the Northeastern United States. In total, 349 patients who met the criteria for DSM-IV alcohol dependence when they entered residential treatment were randomized to treatment as usual (n = 179) or treatment as usual plus a smartphone (n = 170) with the Addiction-Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (A-CHESS), an application designed to improve continuing care for alcohol use disorders. INTERVENTIONS: Treatment as usual varied across programs; none offered patients coordinated continuing care after discharge. A-CHESS provides monitoring, information, communication, and support services to patients, including ways for patients and counselors to stay in contact. The intervention and follow-up period lasted 8 and 4 months, respectively. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Risky drinking days--the number of days during which a patient's drinking in a 2-hour period exceeded 4 standard drinks for men and 3 standard drinks for women, with standard drink defined as one that contains roughly 14 g of pure alcohol (12 oz of regular beer, 5 oz of wine, or 1.5 oz of distilled spirits). Patients were asked to report their risky drinking days in the previous 30 days on surveys taken 4, 8, and 12 months after discharge from residential treatment. RESULTS: For the 8 months of the intervention and 4 months of follow-up, patients in the A-CHESS group reported significantly fewer risky drinking days than did patients in the control group, with a mean of 1.39 vs 2.75 days (mean difference, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.46-2.27; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings suggest that a multifeatured smartphone application may have significant benefit to patients in continuing care for alcohol use disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01003119.

The educational goals of people with psychiatric disabilities.

OBJECTIVE: Many people with psychiatric disability have educational goals. In this paper, we survey a sample to describe the frequency of academic interests, specific goals related to this interest, and barriers that undermine education. METHODS: One hundred and four people from a large Midwestern mental health center completed the Educational Goals Survey (EGS) which was developed with feedback from two consumer focus groups. RESULTS: Almost two thirds of respondents never got beyond high school education. Of this group, 54.5% wanted to go back to school. Reasons for returning to school included improving one's job status and enhancing personal growth. CONCLUSIONS: Two sets of barriers emerged from the data; those which are consistent with any adult student and those which must be addressed because of disability. We make sense of these data by comparing results with the U.S. Census where appropriate.