Chemical Dependency Treatment: The Integration of the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction/Use Treatment Systems

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Abstract
The development of the alcoholism and drug addiction/use treatment systems was completely separate. By 1980, the drug addiction/use field had a solid scientific base but was losing momentum as a public priority. The alcoholism treatment system was gaining acceptance and the 28-day hospital was becoming the treatment standard. During the 1980s the cocaine epidemic, the AIDS crisis, and major health care financing shifts brought new currents of change into the system. By the end of the decade, the alcoholism system and drug addiction/use system were extremely out of sync. To maximize the information that each field has to offer the other and to coordinate the treatment effort, a single chemical dependency treatment system is proposed. This development would require the integration of the NIAAA and NIDA. The result would promote the establishment of coordinated treatment standards and subsequent improvement of treatment based upon empirical decision making.

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