PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT FOR TREATMENT IMPROVEMENT

DESCRIPTION: It is anticipated that Congress will move regulation of methadone treatment programs to adopt an accreditation model in the future. The center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and the Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission (CARF) have participated in a joint study to determine feasibility of an accreditation model. Preliminary findings show that programs are indeed able to meet accreditation requirements. Danya International, Inc. developed the conceptual framework for a Performance measurement for Treatment Improvement (PMTI) Web-based application in Phase I of this project. The unique benefits of this system to methadone treatment programs include, but are not limited to, the following: presents accreditation guidelines; provides sample plans, policies, and procedures; provides access to automated performance measurement tools; provides data reports and analysis; compares local, state/county, and national benchmark data; guides staff through a quality improvement (QI) process; and provides ready-to-use QI tools and techniques. Danya is proposing to develop and program this Web-based application in Phase II. Specific aims of the project will be to complete the architecture design, complete the content development of the PMTI system, program the system using Web-based technologies, beta test the system, and conduct a users' assessment.