Outcome Measures are an effort for each behavioral health provider to develop a reporting system that will create an accurate and current picture of substance abuse and mental health services delivered. Outcome Measures serve as performance targets for private treatment centers, state- and Federally-funded programs for substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion, early intervention, and treatment services.
Outcome Measures embody meaningful, real life outcomes for people who are striving to attain and sustain recovery; build resilience; and work, learn, live, and participate fully in their local communities. Within to scope of Outcome Measures, there are 11 priority areas, one of which addresses co-occurring disorders (COD). Each area is subdivided into three areas:
- Mental health services
- Substance abuse treatment
- Substance abuse prevention
Each area is further subdivided into ten domains:
- Reduced Morbidity
- Employment/Education
- Crime and Criminal Justice
- Stability in Housing
- Social Connectedness
- Access/Capacity
- Retention
- Perception of Care (or services)
- Cost Effectiveness
- Use of Evidence-Based Practices
Because of challenges to isolate COD data and examine it independently, data for this priority area is monitored under two domains: 1) Reduced morbidity; and 2) Social connectedness. Outcome measures are developed under each domain.
Outcomes are populated with three national-level SAMHSA data sets:
- National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). This data is defined by the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is not required reporting in all States/jurisdictions and comes primarily from public substance abuse treatment facilities. Data is collected from the approximately 1.8 million annual admissions.
- Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Uniform Reporting System (URS). This data is collected voluntarily by states with most data derived from public mental health systems. Large variation ranges exist in this data due to systems, capacity, collection methods, and variable definitions.
- Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). This data is collected from emergency room visits and medical examiner reports
Outcomes measures assess clinical outcomes, such as emotional and behavioral functioning, and non-clinical outcomes, such as cost effectiveness and perception of care.
Seacrest Resource Center can provide you with the tolls needed to track the outcomes of your client for up to 3 years.