Introduction and overview
The Treatment Outcomes Profile (TOP) was developed by the NTA and has been implemented throughout the drug treatment system in England since 2007. The tool was developed with three aims in mind:
1) To develop a tool that is clinically useful, that can add value to the important work that is done between the client and the keyworker.
2) To enable the NTA to monitor and assess the effectiveness of the national drug treatment system.
3) To support commissioners and treatment providers in making improvements, where necessary in the local treatment system.
Prior to the introduction of the TOP, proxy indicators such as waiting times and retention were used to assess the effectiveness of drug treatment.
The TOP is a 20 item measure that focuses on four important treatment domains as defined in the NTA care planning practice guide:
• Substance use
• Injecting risk behaviour
• Crime
• Health & social functioning
Unlike proxy indicators, these domains reflect the problem areas that can make a real difference to clients’ lives and that of wider communities.
It is designed to be completed by the keyworker and with the client, at the start of treatment, periodically throughout treatment and at the end of treatment.
TOP information is submitted to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) where quality assurance and analysis are undertaken. The information is fed back to the local treatment system to help commissioners and providers improve, where necessary, the quality of services that are provided.
