ABSTRACT
Alcoholism treatment effectiveness and costs are contemporary research issues with both health policy and clinical management implications. The problem for medical care administrators today is to determine the most cost-effective treatment approaches for patients, especially with current emphases on cost control and reduction. Cost-effectiveness refers to the effectiveness in clinical outcomes for the least cost (Folland, Goodman, & Stano, 1993; also see discussion by Gold, Siegel, Russell, & Weinstein, 1996). This chapter examines the potential of alcoholism treatment to contribute to health services effects, that is, reduction of total medical-care costs, with special attention to the results achieved by matching patient characteristics to treatment modality.
