Cost effectiveness of alcoholism treatment in partial hospital versus inpatient settings after brief inpatient treatment: 12-month outcomes.

A total of 174 alcoholics were randomly assigned to partial hospital treatment (PHT) or extendedinpatient (EIP) rehabilitation after inpatient evaluation and/or detoxification. This article reportsthe 12-month follow-up results for the 115 subjects who consented to continue past the 6th monthof follow-up. There were few differences in clinical outcomes between the PHT and EIP groups.Both reported more than 80% abstinent days during follow-up, and over 70% had a full-time occupa-tional role, although almost a third experienced job losses during the year. Subjects showed signifi-cant improvements in psychological well-being and social behavior. One third were rehospitalizedduring the follow-up year. Costs for the partial hospital group were significantly lower than the ex-tended inpatient group, leading to an overall conclusion that partial hospital treatment provides acost-effective alternative to inpatient treatment for many alcoholics. Implications for health careplanning are addressed.