The Relationship Between End-of-Treatment Alcohol Use and Subsequent Healthcare Costs: Do Heavy Drinking Days Predict Higher Healthcare Costs?

摘要

BackgroundA challenge for evaluating alcohol treatment efficacy is determining what constitutes a good outcome or meaningful improvement. Abstinence at the end of treatment is an unambiguously good outcome; however, a focus on abstinence ignores the potential benefits of patients reducing their drinking to less problematic levels. Patients may be drinking at low-risk levels at the end of treatment but may be high-functioning and impose few social costs. In this study, we estimate the relationship between drinking at the end of COMBINE treatment and subsequent healthcare costs with an emphasis on heavy and nonheavy drinking levels.