Efficacy & Efficiency of Treatment

The eighth fundamental element involves establishing a means to measure the effectiveness or efficacy of treatment and determine its overall cost or efficiency. Friedman and Glichman (1986, p.669) report that "very little is known about the actual 'state of the art' of the treatment that is being provided for adolescent substance abusers." Further compounding the problem is the "state of the art" of the methodology available to evaluate treatment outcome. Sobell, Serge, Sobell, Roy, and Stevens (1987, pp. 113) At best, the overall "state of the art" of treatment in the field of adolescent chemical dependency and accompanying methodology for evaluating treatment outcome is at best, emerging (Ross, 1994, pp. 165-173).