This application proposes the development of a computerized information management system to assist staff in drug abuse treatment clinics to provide more efficient service delivery. The system, comprised of modules of software, computer driven methadone dosage preparation, and personnel identification devices, can be assembled in various combinations to meet the particular needs of a clinic. The benefits of the system include freeing of staff time to provide more treatment capacity, reducing the waiting time methadone maintenance patients spend in methadone clinics decreasing the cost per patient treated, and increasing accountability through automatic generation of documents required by regulatory agencies. The proposed system has components which are innovations that could advance the state of the are in clinical information management: encoded storage files the cannot be altered, a finger print scanning device that will imprint magnetic storage media with a substitute for a handwritten signature, a liquid medication dispenser that is driven by weight of the substance dispensed, and assistance with clinical case management. This application requests funding to write the prototype of the clinic management software, to determine the feasibility of using a fingerprint scanning terminal to positively identify patients and clinic stage, and to assemble a prototype methadone dispenser.
