Substance user treatment program quality: selected topics.

This panel explores the "state of the art" in conceptualization and research pertinent to program quality in substance user treatment. First, seven critical questions for program quality are identified and discussed. Second, a recent national evaluation of treatment examines the implications of long-term patient outcomes for treatment quality. Third, a large number of clinical trials of behavioral and pharmacological treatments for cocaine dependence were conducted during the 1990s; this research is synthesized and interpreted. Fourth, progress is reported in improving the quality of treatment through standardized criteria for patient placement matching.