Unbound MEDLINE

Improving substance abuse data systems to measure 'waiting time to treatment': lessons learned from a quality improvement initiative.

Abstract

Robust data measurement systems assess health care performance and monitor population-level treatment trends. A key challenge in the assessment of substance abuse treatment is the development of systems to accurately monitor service delivery indicators. Wait time to treatment, as defined by the days between first request for service and first treatment, is an important measure of organizational process and delivery of care. The Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment emphasizes wait time as a primary outcome in their study of 201 addiction treatment agencies in the USA. This article describes the changes made in five state data systems to monitor wait times and outlines lessons learned that could be applied to other health data tracking systems.

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  • Publisher Full Text

    • Authors

    Hoffman KA, Quanbeck A, Ford JH, Wrede F, Wright D, Lambert-Wacey D, Chvojka P, Hanchett A, McCarty D

    Institution

    Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA. hoffmaki@ohsu.edu

    Source

    Health informatics journal 17:4 2011 Dec pg 256-65

    MeSH

    Humans
    Information Systems
    Quality Improvement
    Substance-Related Disorders
    Waiting Lists

    Pub Type(s)

    Journal Article
    Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
    Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

    Language

    eng

    PubMed ID

    22193826