Addiction Treatment Outcomes

Comparing addiction treatment success rates across different care providers and approaches might seem like an apples-to-apples assessment, but it's not. For the most part, the addiction treatment field lacks consistently reported—and, in some cases, scientifically valid—ways of measuring the impact of treatment services. Psychiatrist Marvin D. Seppala, MD, and addiction researcher Audrey Klein, PhD, join host William C. Moyers armed with key questions consumers should ask treatment providers about their results: How do they define success? (Length of sobriety? Quality of life indicators?) What percentage of their patients get better? How do they conduct patient follow-up? (By phone? How frequently? For how long post-treatment?)