Pay for….what exactly?

~ Jason Schwartz

Addiction Today does a good job reviewing the questions and challenges involved in evaluating addiction treatment. The issues they tackle include:

  • What are we measuring?
  • How impartial is the evidence?
  • In the context of “pay for performance”, should we pay for processes or outcomes?

The last question is a huge one. Treatment providers often have to invest significant resources in evaluating their own outcomes to defend their existence and the efficacy of their services. Evidence-based practices offer a path to lifting that burden, but there would be an accompanying loss of freedom.

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Published by Jason Schwartz

I have been an addiction professional and social worker since 1994. I started blogging in 2005 as the Clinical Director at Dawn Farm. I currently serve as the Director of Social Work and Spiritual Care for a healthcare system. I've also served as the Director of Behavioral Health at another hospital. I'm also a lecturer at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Social Work. Views expressed here are my own. Keep in mind that the field, the contexts in which the field operates, and my views have changed over time.