EuropASI: A standard in de Sleutel, Belgium

Abstract

Aims. The introduction of the EuropASI (European version of the Addiction Severity Index) as a standard intake instrument was inspired by four different viewpoints—clinical, registration, research and management—and aimed at implementation in these four areas.

Setting. De Sleutel includes five ambulatory centres and four residential centres in different parts of Flanders in Belgium. In 1998, the EuropASI interview was introduced in de Sleutel as a diagnostic standard admission for residential as well as ambulatory drug‐treatment settings. Today there is a database of about 2500 EuropASIs of unique clients.

Findings and conclusion. Clinically, the introduction of the EuropASI gave a basic guideline for clinical workers to act, measure and orient the client after his first treatment demand. It provided a uniform procedure that guarantees a well‐balanced focus for all life areas traditionally linked with addiction problems. It also became a useful instrument for structuring the clinical team meetings and led to better planning and treatment. The EuropASI could deliver the minimal data set needed for regional, national and European epidemiological data. The extra time spent in making up special data sets for monitoring or registers could be saved. Uniformity in the way data are gathered could guarantee a better quality of the data for registration, and redundancy eliminated. Instead the basics are set for a treatment‐supporting documentation system. The research concentrated around a more scientifically founded understanding of addiction problems, more specificity in client profiles, an ability to compare groups, research in matching treatment to client profiles, and more insight in to necessary knowledge and skills for the clinical teams. From a management perspective, the introduction of a European standard for basic assessment of our clients could start the process of total quality management, in providing an accepted basis in documenting the core business of the treatment centres.

• Belgium
• Addiction
• Severity Index
• clinical instrument
• evaluation research