Eldon Edmundson

Addiction Treatment Agencies’ Use of Data: A Qualitative Assessment

Addiction treatment agencies typically do not prioritize data collection, management, and analysis, and these agencies may have barriers to integrating data in agency quality improvement. This article describes qualitative findings from an intervention designed to teach 23 addiction treatment agencies how to make data-driven decisions to improve client access to and retention in care. Agencies demonstrated success adopting process improvement and data-driven strategies to make improvements in care. Barriers to adding a process improvement and data-driven focus to care included a lack of a data-based decision making culture, lack of expertise and other resources, treatment system complexity, and resistance. Factors related to the successful adoption of process-focused data include agency leadership valuing data and providing resources, staff training on data collection and use, sharing of change results, and success in making data-driven decisions.

Implementing evidence-based practices for treatment of alcohol and drug disorders

Implementing Evidence-Based Practices for Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Disorders provides managers and clinicians with results from Practice Improvement Collaboratives (PIC) that demonstrate how substance abuse treatment can be improved by increasing the exchange of knowledge between community-based service providers and the research community. The book examines improvement collaboratives and mentoring strategies for adopting and using evidence-based practices. Contributors address how to determine the best treatment processes to serve clients, how to deal with the hurdles faced in preparing and training counselors, and how to affect the needed changes in agency activities. This unique professional resource, which also looks at findings from a Veterans Health Administration Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, responds to an Institute of Medicine report that found a substantial disconnect between research and practice in treatment for drug and alcohol dependence. Focusing on how to make the changes necessary to support the adoption and use of evidence-based practices, the book documents the activities of four sites to illustrate how investigators and treatment practitioners worked together to implement evidence-based practices. Contributors examine the development and early implementation of Practice Improvement Collaboratives, the investigator-provider-policymaker model, Motivational Enhancement Therapy, the use of Opinion Leaders in training, and targeted strategies that take into account the differences in clinician demographics and training. Topics addressed in Implementing Evidence-Based Practices for Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Disorders include: • environmental adoption • formal organizational structures and processes • stability in the workforce • changing the attitudes, behavior, and knowledge of clinicians • the effectiveness of a two-day training session (followed by a four-hour booster) • measuring treatment philosophies • traditional, nontraditional, and multiform clinical orientations.

A business case for quality improvement in addiction treatment: Evidence from the NIATx collaborative

The Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) promotes treatment access and retention through a customer-focused quality improvement model. This paper explores the issue of the “business case” for quality improvement in addiction treatment from the provider’s perspective. The business case model developed in this paper is based on case examples of early NIATx participants coupled with a review of the literature. Process inefficiencies indicated by long waiting times, high no-show rates, and low continuation rates cause underutilization of capacity and prevent optimal financial performance. By adopting customer-focused practices aimed at removing barriers to treatment access and retention, providers may be able to improve financial performance, increase staff retention, and gain long-term strategic advantage.

Challenges Substance Abuse Treatment Agencies Faced in Adoption of Computer-Based Technology to Improve Assessment

The Oregon Practice Improvement Collaborative provided resources and technical assistance to help five Oregon drug treatment agencies adopt computer-based technology of their choice to support client progress in treatment. This manuscript describes agency processes related to that adoption of technology. Agencies chose computer programs to improve clinical outcomes, reduce staff burden, and respond to external pressures. Agencies used a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches to involve staff in decision making. Agencies guided staff from current practice to a standardized paper-and-pencil tool, then from the paper-and-pencil tool to its electronic version. Staff experienced barriers in technology-related training, logistical challenges in integrating the technology, and sustaining the technology.

Education Resources Needed to Support the Teaching of Evidence-Based Practices

ABSTRACT The Northwest Frontier Addiction Technology Transfer Center surveyed addiction educators, providers and policy makers in Northwest states and Hawaii to define teaching resources and barriers in the teaching of evidence-based practices for the preparation of addiction professionals. The top three teaching resource needs were example student learning activities that support building competencies, science to service trends, and teaching tools that support class and field learning. Educators face three main challenges in teaching evidence-based practices: keeping current with emerging evidence-based practices, defining effective ways to teach these practices, and keeping current with the changes that emerging practices have on credentialing requirements and counselor scope of practice. Providers, educators and policy makers believed they could expand their collaboration to enhance student-learning experiences in addiction education programs. The article discusses concerns and solutions that impact th...