Science / Medicine : Hospital Treatment for Alcoholism

Hospital treatment for employees with alcohol problems may be much more effective than previously believed, according to a new study by Boston University and Harvard public health researchers.

Since the mid-1980s, the preponderance of medical evidence has indicated that alcohol-abusing patients tend to fare about the same whether they receive conventional 21- or 28-day inpatient treatment or short-term outpatient care. As a result, many insurers have begun to restrict payments for hospitalization.

But a study of 227 workers at a General Electric plant in Massachusetts, published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, found the opposite. Employees were randomly assigned to one of three regimens: compulsory 21-day inpatient programs, compulsory attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings or a choice of treatment options. After two years of follow-up monitoring, the inpatient group showed much greater improvement in drinking behavior and job performance.

In addition, over 24 months, the cost of treating the inpatient group proved to be only 10% higher than the AA-only and choice groups, both of which had higher rates of hospitalization after initial treatment.