We are upgrading the repository! A content freeze is in effect until December 11, 2024. New submissions or changes to existing items will not be allowed during this period. All content already published will remain publicly available for searching and downloading. Updates will be posted in the Website Upgrade 2024 FAQ in the sidebar Help menu. Reach out to escholarship@umassmed.edu with any questions.
The Dynamic Assessment and Referral System for Substance Abuse (DARSSA): development, functionality, and end-user satisfaction
Name:
Publisher version
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Emergency MedicineDocument Type
Accepted ManuscriptPublication Date
2009-01-09Keywords
Data Interpretation, StatisticalFollow-Up Studies
Humans
New Jersey
Patient Satisfaction
Patient Selection
Population
*Referral and Consultation
Self-Assessment
*SoftwareSubstance Abuse Treatment CentersSubstance-Related DisordersTelephoneTreatment Outcometechnologysubstance abuse treatmentreferralstreatment matchingsubstance abuse screeningtreatment initiationEmergency MedicineHealth Information TechnologyHealth Services AdministrationHealth Services ResearchSubstance Abuse and AddictionTherapeutics
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The Dynamic Assessment and Referral System for Substance Abuse (DARSSA) conducts a computerized substance abuse assessment; prints personalized summary reports that include tailored substance abuse treatment referral lists; and, for individuals who provide authorization, automatically faxes their contact information to a "best match" substance abuse treatment provider (dynamic referral). After piloting the program and resolving problems that were noted, we enrolled a sample of 85 medical patients. The DARSSA identified 48 (56%) participants who were risky substance users, many of whom had not been identified during their routine medical assessment. Mean satisfaction scores for all domains ranged between "Good" to "Excellent" across patients, nurses, doctors, and substance abuse treatment providers. The median completion time was 13min. Of the 48 risky substance using participants, 20 (42%) chose to receive a dynamic referral. The DARSSA provides a user-friendly, desirable service for patients and providers. It has the potential to improve identification of substance abuse in medical settings and to provide referrals that would not routinely be provided. Future studies are planned to establish its efficacy at promoting treatment initiation and abstinence.Source
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009 Jan 1;99(1-3):37-46. Epub 2008 Sep 4. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.06.015Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/28423PubMed ID
18775606Notes
At the time of publication, Edwin Boudreaux was not yet affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. A definitive version was subsequently published in Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009 Jan 1;99(1-3):37-46. DOI 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.06.015
Related Resources
Scopus Count
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Substance Use Disorder Treatment in the Time of COVIDPrimary care clinicians face many challenges when addressing the complex needs of patients with chronic pain, substance use disorders or both. Over the last 10 months, the SARS-CoVID-2 pandemic has both increased and changed the challenges that healthcare providers face. Massachusetts Consultation Service for the Treatment of Addiction and Pain (MCSTAP) is a free service that helps doctors and other clinicians meet these challenges by increasing their capacity for, and comfort in, using evidence-based practices to screen, diagnose, treat and manage the care of these patients. MCSTAP provides on-demand physician consultation on safe prescribing and managing the care of patients with chronic pain and/or SUD. Join us for a webinar to learn about the innovative services that MCSTAP provides. Christopher Shanahan MD MPH FACP will share his knowledge about why and experience about how MCSTAP was created. You will learn about how SARS-CoVID-2 pandemic has changed SUD treatment and prescribing protocols. Currently, the SARS-CoVID-2 pandemic has presented serious and life-threatening challenges to both patients and to their clinicians. After attending this webinar, participants will: Understand the bidirectional relationship of SARS-Cov-2 pandemic & the epidemic U.S. Substance Use on identification & treatment of physical, mental health & Substance Use Disorders (SUD) e.g. opioid crisis Describe components & impact of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) on care of individuals with SUD & impact on the risk for & clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection Employ Intersectionality to identify/analyze key areas of need & potential for high impact & then develop/implement evidence-based & innovative solutions.
-
Integrating tobacco dependence treatment and tobacco-free standards into addiction treatment: New Jersey's experienceNew Jersey was the first State to require that all residential addiction treatment programs assess and treat patients for tobacco dependence and maintain tobacco-free facilities (including grounds). An evaluation of this policy change found that tobacco dependence treatment can be successfully integrated into residential substance abuse treatment programs through policy regulation, training, and the provision of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (Williams et al. 2005). Many other addiction treatment agencies (both residential and outpatient) around the country now have implemented or are planning to implement similar policies to ensure that their patients receive appropriate assessment and treatment of their tobacco dependence while receiving treatment for addiction to other substances. This paper aims to summarize the lessons learned from the experience in New Jersey.
-
Accessibility of addiction treatment: results from a national survey of outpatient substance abuse treatment organizationsOBJECTIVES: This study examined organization-level characteristics associated with the accessibility of outpatient addiction treatment. METHODS: Program directors and clinical supervisors from a nationally representative panel of outpatient substance abuse treatment units in the United States were surveyed in 1990, 1995, and 2000. Accessibility was measured from clinical supervisors' reports of whether the treatment organization provided "treatment on demand" (an average wait time of 48 hours or less for treatment entry), and of whether the program turned away any patients. RESULTS: In multivariable logistic models, provision of "treatment on demand" increased two-fold from 1990 to 2000 (OR, 1.95; 95 percent CI, 1.5 to 2.6), while reports of turning patients away decreased nonsignificantly. Private for-profit units were twice as likely to provide "treatment on demand" (OR, 2.2; 95 percent CI, 1.3 to 3.6), but seven times more likely to turn patients away (OR, 7.4; 95 percent CI, 3.2 to 17.5) than public programs. Conversely, units that served more indigent populations were less likely to provide "treatment on demand" or to turn patients away. Methadone maintenance programs were also less likely to offer "treatment on demand" (OR, .65; 95 percent CI, .42 to .99), but more likely to turn patients away (OR, 2.4; 95 percent CI, 1.4 to 4.3). CONCLUSIONS: Although the provision of timely addiction treatment appears to have increased throughout the 1990s, accessibility problems persist in programs that care for indigent patients and in methadone maintenance programs.
