(author's abstract) Phase 1. Clinicians, administrators, and insurers need assistance with the assessment of addicted patients. We intended to develop a computerized assessment tool based upon the American Society of Addiction Medicine Patient Placement Criteria for the Treatment of Substance Related Disorders: Second Edition (ASAM PPC-2). The proposed software product will guide users through the process of patient assessment, identification of problems and problem severity, and it will suggest levels of care for the identified problems. Consistent with the branching points of the ASAM PPC-2. During Phase I, we will produce and evaluate the specifications and design of the database and user interface using an iterative prototype development process. The assessment items and algorithm will be provided by previous research (Gastfriend et al., 1997). The prototype design will be evaluated throughout this project by an external review group, consisting of members of ASAM and other potential target users. In phase II, we will complete development and evaluate the software with multiple scheduled internal evaluation processes as well as external review sessions. After meeting pre-defined standards, an empirical field study will be conducted to test the clinical validity, usability, and user satisfaction.
The computerized ASAM PPC-2 assessment tool will be used by an estimated 20,000 organizations made up of addiction treatment providers, managed care administrators, researchers and insurers. Sixteen States at this point have mandated the use of the ASAM PPC-2 by their addiction treatment providers. Our automated version of this assessment tool will streamline the data collection process for these clinicians.
