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What Is a TIP?

CSAT Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) are prepared by the Quality Assurance and evaluation Branch to facilitate the transfer of state-of-the-art protocols and guidelines for the treatment of alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse from acknowledged clinical, research, and administrative experts to the Nation's AOD abuse treatment resources.

The dissemination of a TIP is the last step in a process that begins with the recommendation of an AOD abuse problem area for consideration by a panel of experts. These include clinicians, researchers, and program managers, as well as professionals in such related fields as social services or criminal justice.

Once a topic has been selected, CSAT creates a Federal resource panel, with members from pertinent Federal agencies and national organizations, to review the state of the art in treatment and program management in the area selected. Recommendations from this Federal panel are then communicated to the members of a second group, which consists of non-Federal experts who are intimately familiar with the topic. This group, known as a non-Federal consensus panel, meets in Washington for 5 days, makes recommendations, defines protocols, and arrives at agreement on protocols. Its members represent AOD abuse treatment programs, hospitals, community health centers, counseling programs, criminal justice and child welfare agencies, and private practitioners. A Chair for the panel is charged with responsibility for ensuring that the resulting protocol reflects true group consensus.

The next step is a review of the proposed guidelines and protocol by a third group whose members serve as expert field reviewers. Once their recommendations and responses have been reviewed, the Chair approves the document for publication. The result is a TIP reflecting the actual state of the art of AOD abuse treatment used in public and private programs recognized for their provision of high quality and innovative AOD abuse treatment.

Outcomes monitoring can be defined as the assessment, at some goal point following treatment, of patient progress toward the program's goals of treatment. Outcomes montioring can help determine the efficacy of treatment for different types of patients, improve program performance, and document cost-effectiveness. In addition, the data derived from outcomes monitoring systems(OMSs) can be used to make resource allocations, justify funding requests, and provide data on outcomes to managed care systems.

This TIP, entitled Developing State Outcomes Monitoring Systems for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Treatment Programs, can be of help to anyone interested in improving patient matching and treatment in this era of increasing emphasis on outcomes accountability.

This TIP represents another step by CSAT toward its goal of bringing national leadership to bear in the effort to improve AOD abuse treatment.

Other TIPs may be ordered by contacting the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) 800-729-6686 or (301) 468-2600; TDD (for hearing impaired), (800) 487-4889.

Last Updated 11-7-02