The original task force report, completed in the summer of 1994, reflected the current state of addiction treatment and provided recommendations for improving these services in the future. That monograph is reproduced in this book, which accomplishes the following:

• Define psychiatrists’ current roles and practices in the treatment of substance-dependent patients in relationship to that of other practitioners, with particular attention to issues such as dual diagnosis, methadone treatment, and detoxification
  
• Develop suggestions for appropriate funding mechanisms for the payment of addicted patients’ treatment in the context of managed care and indemnity benefit programs
  
• Examine issues related to the funding of public sector programs, including funding of Department of Veterans Affairs programs, block grant funding of state and city programs, as well as funding of voluntary treatment programs within and outside the criminal justice system.

This book is divided into four sections. Chapter 1 reviews the history of American psychiatry’s interest in addiction disorders and the development of the current network of addiction treatment services. Chapter 2 is a snapshot of the current addiction treatment system, with a description of the services provided in general medical settings, psychiatric hospitals, freestanding residential facilities, and private practice and other outpatient settings. Chapter 3 explores the economics of the treatment system: the costs of addictive diseases to American society and the costs and sources of support for their treatment. Chapter 4 examines the range of system modifications and resource allocations needed to bring high quality, cost-effective treatment to addicted patients and their families. These needs range from improving data collection and treatment research to increasing community involvement and the application of current research findings.