Five-Year Trajectories of Health Care Utilization and Cost in a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Sample

The study concluded that medical evaluations and treatment should not be overlooked during chemical dependency (CD) treatment. It found that the positive association between abstinence and trajectories of primary care and total medical costs suggests that maintaining abstinence over a long term requires some kind of continuing care either in primary care settings or via additional contacts with specialty CD departments.

 Key points from the study include:

• There was a declining trend in inpatient, ER and average medical costs for the treatment sample while there was no such trend among the demographically matched non-patient sample.
• As with other chronic conditions where good medical practice calls for quality services despite the costs associated with providing such service, developing a continuing care model for CD treatment is likely to yield good long-term outcomes and, eventually, lower medical costs for the health plan.

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