Aim: Pragmatic approaches to integration of medical care and substance abuse treatment are desired. We assessed the effectiveness of a novel multi-disciplinary clinic for linking patients in a residential detoxification program to primary medical care.
Participants: We enrolled patients undergoing in-patient detoxification from alcohol, heroin or cocaine who had no primary care physician into a randomized controlled trial. The intervention consisted of a clinical evaluation at the detoxification unit in the health evaluation and linkage to primary care (HELP) clinic by a nurse, social worker and physician and facilitated referral to an off-site primary care clinic. The primary outcome of interest was attendance at a primary care appointment within 12 months. Secondary outcomes assessed over 24 months were addiction severity, health-related quality of life, utilization of medical and addiction services and HIV risk behaviors.
Findings: Of the 470 subjects enrolled, 235 were randomized to the HELP clinic intervention. Linkage to primary medical care occurred in 69% of the intervention group compared to 53% in the control group (P = 0.0003). The clinic was similarly effective for subjects with alcohol and illicit drug problems. Randomization to the HELP clinic resulted in no significant differences in secondary outcomes.
Conclusions: The HELP clinic, a multi-disciplinary clinic located in a detoxification unit, effectively linked alcohol- and drug-dependent individuals to primary medical care. This intervention utilized a 'reachable moment', the period of addiction care, as a window of opportunity for linking substance abusers to medical care.