Substance abuse treatment policy implications derived from routine statistical reports

Substance abuse poses both economic and social threats. Medical treatments for substance abusers are considered as one of the main strategies to tackle with the problems. For each episode of cases seeking medical treatments, data are routinely collected and reported to the Department of Medical Services and copies to the Office of Narcotics Control Board of Thailand. However, they are rarely analyzed and used. This paper demonstrates an example how a basic analysis, with occasional substantiation from other databases or basic knowledge, can lead to meaningful policy options for medical treatments of substance abuse in the near future.