Using cost and financing instruments for economic evaluation of substance abuse treatment services.

Standardized economic evaluation instruments are an important tool in the analysis of change and performance of addiction treatment. Nevertheless, compared to other health care sectors, economic evaluation of addiction treatment is still rare. The present paper proposes two comprehensive economic evaluation instruments that are methodologically sound and that meet the objectives of comprehensiveness, standardization, and comparability. The Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program (DATCAP) can be used to estimate the economic cost of treatment services; the Drug Abuse Treatment Financing Analysis Program (DATFin) is a companion instrument and analyzes the complexity and change of treatment financing. This paper outlines the contents of each instrument and, for illustrative purposes, presents results from several case studies. Suggestions for updates and enhancements for each instrument are also discussed.