Outcomes Evaluations

DeltaMetrics is a leader in the design and implementation of outcomes evaluations of substance abuse treatment systems.  DeltaMetrics scientists have designed and directed hundreds of evaluations of statewide and provider-level systems of care and served on numerous, large-scale evaluation projects that have been undertaken by the federal government.  Click here for project descriptions.

The instruments and methodologies used by the organization are based upon the pioneering work of DeltaMetrics co-founder A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D., creator of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and the Treatment Services Review (TSR).  By administering these and other standardized instruments in well-controlled clinical trials, DeltaMetrics’ outcomes evaluations have yielded important information on treatment efficacy that has assisted providers and payers, including regulatory officials, to demonstrate the worth and effectiveness of their substance abuse treatment services. DeltaMetrics’ evaluations help to:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment systems, including comparative analyses of the modalities that comprise a system.  This information is invaluable to State and Federal regulators in justifying expenditures of public funding on treatment services.

• Inform development of sustainable Outcomes Monitoring Systems (OMS) capable of generating the data necessary to monitor provider performance on a continuous basis.  

• Initiate Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) programs within treatment systems under which data from the OMS is analyzed, actionable targets for improvement by providers are identified, interventions are applied and the results evaluated – all on a continuous, self-informing basis. 

DeltaMetrics scientists assist client organizations in:

• Training and technical assistance on the design and implementation of outcomes studies and Outcomes Monitoring Systems.  DeltaMetrics is also one of the most active ASI training centers in the nation and is one of the few that offers competency-based training.

• Development of sampling frames and data collection protocols

• Instrument and survey design, including development of automated instruments

• Database design and management

• Large-scale survey administration in which DeltaMetrics achieves follow-up completion rates for difficult-to-find populations approaching 70% of sample sizes

• Data analysis, including case mix adjustment, benchmarking and selection and validation of performance indicators as proxies for long-term outcomes measures

• Report writing

For more information about outcomes evaluations and how they can benefit your treatment system, contact DeltaMetrics’ Director of Operations, Kathleen Geary, at 215-399-0988.