A new blog series that has been launched on the website of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) reinforces the organization’s mission to advance data-driven treatment and outcome-focused evaluation of programs. The series opens with a strongly worded call for the addiction field to catch up to other health care disciplines in demonstrating its efficacy through hard data.
“We can no longer afford to be the last discipline asking to be taken on faith,” write co-authors Cole Dyar (executive director of virtual services at Northbound Treatment Network) and Annie Peters (NAATP’s director of research and education). “That era of anecdotal evidence is ending, whether we feel ready for it or not.”
Peters serves as executive director of NAATP’s groundbreaking Foundation for Recovery Science and Education (FoRSE), which has become a natonal driver of data-driven quality improvement in substance use treatment. FoRSE’s most recent annual report, based on year 2025 data from just over 200 treatment centers, highlighted the importance of maintaining patient engagement over time and demonstrated the benefits of treatment in improving patients’ mental health and in building resources for a lasting recovery.
FoRSE has become an important presence in promoting consistency across treatment centers in how they measure their patients’ progress. Commenting on why sound outcome measurement is essential in organizations, Dyar and Peters write in their introductory blog, “According to studies on outcomes measurement, even the most seasoned clinicians only spot when a patient is getting worse about 20% of the time if they’re relying on gut feeling alone. When we use measurement-based care, we aren’t just filling out forms. We’re building a roadmap.”
Data that demonstrate a treatment program’s value will enhance an organization’s credibility and boost its bottom line, but the blog’s authors explain there’s a broader purpose to the work as well. “When we show that addiction treatment produces real, measurable medical results, we strengthen the case for parity,” they write. “Data is the bridge that moves us from being seen as a ‘social service’ to being recognized as a vital medical discipline, deserving of the same investment and respect as cardiology or oncology.”
Topics to be covered in upcoming installments of the NAATP series will include a broader look at measuring (beyond patient abstinence), how to build a culture of measurement within a treatment organization, and the importance of capturing long-term recovery outcomes via use of alumni programming.
As a technology partner for the FoRSE effort, we at Sigmund are enthusiastic about our role in helping facilities participate fully in this critical outcome evaluation project. We are confident that an endeavor of this scope is what’s needed to elevate the addiction treatment field within the health care community.
As Dyar and Peters state in their blog, “Data has become the new language of hope.”
