Abstract
Aims and MethodsAn audit of clients in specialist and shared care services was undertaken in 2003 and in 2005 to investigate the capacity, quality of prescribed medication and profile of clients, and to assess the impact of the new General Medical Services contract on drug misuse treatment.ResultsCapacity in specialist services increased by 55% from 2003 to 2005, but not in shared care, and type and dosage of prescribed medication improved for shared care. Profile of clients suggests that stable clients are treated within shared care.Clinical ImplicationsAttention should be given in training general practitioners to provide shared care treatment, increasing the number of clients accepted in shared care, and considering new treatment models.
Highlights
This was defined by the Department of Health as ‘the joint participation of general practitioners (GPs) and specialists in the planned delivery of care of patients with substance misuse problems informed by an enhanced information exchange beyond routine discharge and referral letters’ (Department of Health, 1996)
Once the new General Medical Services contract for GPs came into operation in 2004, it was agreed that shared care should only be provided by those GPs on the enhanced services contract having received appropriate training and remuneration
It was expected that the enhanced General Medical Services model of shared care would have (a) increased treatment capacity, which would have had the effect of increasing treatment options and choice, and (b) improved the quality of treatment offered
Summary
An audit of clients in specialist and shared care services was undertaken in 2003 and in 2005 to investigate the capacity, quality of prescribed medication and profile of clients, and to assess the impact of the new General Medical Services contract on drug misuse treatment
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