Articles

Peer Support Quality Assurance and Fidelity: Building Programs That Stay Safe, Consistent, and Defensible at Scale
Peer programs often look strong in pilots but degrade when caseloads rise, supervisors change, and partners interpret the role differently. This article explains how counties build peer QA systems—fidelity checks, case review, incident learning, and boundary monitoring—so peer delivery stays consistent and safe at scale. Read more...
Designing the First 72 Hours After Discharge: Follow-Up Operations That Prevent Rapid Relapse and Return to Crisis Care
The first 72 hours after detox, ED, or inpatient discharge is where relapse, missed doses, and failed appointments cluster. This article explains how systems build practical follow-up operations—multi-channel outreach, escalation triggers, and documentation routines—that convert discharge into continuity and withstand payer and regulator scrutiny. Read more...
Designing MAT Continuity After Detox and Residential Treatment: Bridge Prescribing, Warm Handoffs, and No-Show Recovery
Detox and residential discharge is where MAT continuity most often breaks—prescriptions lapse, pharmacy access fails, and follow-up becomes “optional” in practice. This article sets out an operational continuity design that uses bridge medication, governed handoffs, and rapid re-engagement workflows so counties can reduce post-discharge overdose risk and document accountable follow-through. Read more...
Continuous Improvement for MAT Access and Retention: Measuring What Actually Moves Medication Continuity
MAT access improves when systems measure the real bottlenecks: time-to-prescriber, pharmacy continuity, follow-up after missed doses, and warm handoffs during transitions. This article sets out a practical measurement and improvement model for MAT access and retention. Read more...
Building a CQI-Ready SUD Outcome Framework: From Logic Models to Defensible Measures and Targets
Many SUD dashboards mix indicators without a clear causal chain, making improvement unfocused and easy to challenge. This article shows how to build a CQI-ready outcome framework with logic models, measure selection rules, and target-setting that commissioners can defend. Read more...
Equity-Ready Quality Measurement in SUD Care: Stratification, Risk Adjustment, and Fair Provider Comparisons
Quality measurement can unintentionally punish providers serving the highest-acuity populations. This article shows how SUD systems design equity-ready measurement: stratifying outcomes, applying practical risk adjustment, and using improvement-focused benchmarking. Read more...
Continuous Improvement in Community SUD Systems: Turning Dashboards into Safer Day-to-Day Delivery
Dashboards don’t improve services—operating rhythms do. This article explains how community SUD systems build continuous improvement infrastructure: governance, data validation, rapid-cycle testing, and corrective actions that actually change front-line practice. Read more...
Quality Measures That Improve Care: Building Leading Indicators for SUD Safety, Access, and Continuity
Lagging outcomes like overdose and ED use are essential but too late to guide day-to-day improvement. This article shows how systems build leading indicators—timeliness, outreach fidelity, transition integrity, and medication access—that predict outcomes and support accountable delivery. Read more...
Outcomes That Matter in Community SUD Systems: Moving Beyond Attendance and Abstinence
SUD outcomes can’t be reduced to session counts or a single “abstinent/not” indicator. This article explains how systems define measurable outcomes that reflect safety, stability, and functioning—while staying fair to providers serving high-acuity populations. Read more...
Continuous Improvement Without Burnout: How SUD Systems Build Learning Cycles That Actually Stick
Continuous improvement fails when it overwhelms frontline teams or produces constant change with no payoff. This article shows how SUD systems design improvement cycles that are time-bound, operationally grounded, and capable of producing sustained gains without staff burnout. Read more...
Measuring Engagement Without Punishing Complexity: Quality Metrics That Reflect Real SUD Recovery Pathways
Engagement measures often fail people with the most complex needs. This article explains how counties design engagement and continuity metrics that reflect real recovery pathways, account for volatility, and still provide clear accountability for providers and system leaders. Read more...
From Data to Decisions: How to Run SUD Quality Reviews That Produce Real Service Improvement
Many SUD dashboards report activity but don’t change delivery. This article explains how counties structure quality review forums, set thresholds and triggers, and convert metrics into specific operational actions—without blaming providers or drowning teams in reporting. It includes practical examples and governance controls. Read more...