Videos

An insight in drug treatment outcomes: completion drop out and length of stay in treatment

Research in the UK shows that an increase in the number of cases in drug treatment is associated with a higher rate of drop out and smaller proportion of drug free discharge. Drop out and retention in treatment are measures that can be used to identify factors affecting the outcome of drug treatment. In Ireland, the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) has a newly expanded data collection form to record all treatment interventions received by a client during a treatment episode along with details of their treatment outcome at the time of discharge or transfer to another service. The exit form was piloted by service providers in the South East from 2007, and in the North West in 2008. The exit form was rolled out nationally in 2009, and the majority of services participating in the NDTRS have been returning exit information for the last two years.