Use the Leverage of Public Policy to
Speed Reform in Health Care
Practice
Condition Grants and Contracts for
Addiction Services on the Provision of
Quality Care
Federal, state and local governments should
require--as a condition of receipt of public
funds--that grants, contracts and non-insurance
reimbursement for addiction treatment services:
Utilize evidence-based prevention and
treatment approaches, including
pharmaceutical therapies (provided or
managed by a physician demonstrating the
core competencies of addiction medicine or
addiction psychiatry) and psychosocial
therapies (provided by medical professionals
or graduate-level clinical mental health
professionals trained and licensed in the core
competencies of addiction treatment), as
indicated;
Involve other health professionals,
individuals providing auxiliary services and
those providing peer support, working in a
multidisciplinary team; and
Generate positive and measurable long-term
patient outcomes.
Educate Non-Health Professionals about
Risky Substance Use and Addiction
Require that the topic of risky substance use and
addiction be included in the education and
training of government-funded professionals
who do not provide direct addiction-related
services but who come into contact with
significant numbers of individuals who engage
in risky substance use or who may have
addiction. These include, but are not limited to
law enforcement and other criminal justice
personnel, legal staff, child welfare and other
social service workers and educators. Substance
use- and addiction-related content should
include:
What constitutes risky substance use, the
harms of such use to health and safety and
the importance of reducing risky use; The nature of the disease of addiction and
the medical and other health services needed
to address it; and How to identify signs and symptoms of
risky use and addiction and connect those
with such signs and symptoms to
professional services.Identify Patients at Risk in Government
Programs and Services where Costs of
Risky Use and Addiction Are High
Federal, state and local governments should
require that routine screening and brief
interventions be provided by trained
professionals in all educational, mental health,
developmental disabilities, child welfare,
housing, juvenile justice and adult corrections
services that receive public funding; and that
patients who screen positive for risky use or a
potential diagnosis of addiction be connected
with a trained health professional for
intervention, diagnosis, treatment and disease
management.Develop Tools to Improve Service Quality
Federal and state governments in collaboration
with professional associations, accrediting
organizations and other non-profit organizations
focusing on health care quality--such as the
Washington Circle,* the National Committee for* The Washington Circle is a group of national
experts in addiction-related policy, research and
performance management who seek to improve the
quality and effectiveness of prevention and treatment
services through the use of performance
measurement systems.