2010 NCRG Conference Presenters Try To Narrow The Gap Between Consumers And Healthcare Providers
Removing barriers to treatment and recovery from addiction is one of the featured topics at the 11thAnnual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Nov. 14-16, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nev. Mark Vander Linden, coordinator of the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program, and Janet Zwick, a healthcare consultant withPrairielands A.T.T.C., will present on “Improving Access to and Retention in Treatment: The NIATx Program in Iowa.” Founded in 2003 as the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment,NIATxis designed to help payers (e.g., health insurance and government) and behavioral treatment providers improve the quality of and access to treatment for clients with addiction.
Vander Linden and Zwick will discuss how NIATx is working to improve the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program and how treatment providers can become involved with the NIATx project.
The NIATx Model aims to improve a treatment program in four ways: reduce wait-time between first request for service and first treatment session, reduce no-shows for assessment, increase admissions to treatment and increase continuation from the first treatment to the fourth treatment.
“Like many states, Iowa has seen funding to gambling treatment services reduced the past few years,” said Vander Linden. “Despite this reduction, we have been able to provide more services to more people. NIATx has allowed us to examine our processes to look for efficient and effective ways to reach those who need help.”
For more information on the NIATx Model session at the 2010 NCRG conference, as well as other speakers and presentations, please download theNCRG Conference 2010 Brochure. To register for the conference, visit theConference linkon the NCRG website.
NCRG staffConference on Gambling and Addictionaddiction treatmentIowa Gambling Treatment ProgramNCRG ConferenceNIATxproblem gambling
