A critical review of accounting and economic methods for estimating the costs of addiction treatment

Abstract

Researchers have been at the forefront of applying new costing methods to drug abuse treatment programs and innovations. The motivation for such work has been to improve costing accuracy. Recent work has seen applications initiated in establishing charts of account and cost accounting for service delivery. As a result, researchers now have available five methods to apply to the costing of drug abuse treatment programs. In all areas of costing, there is room for more research on costing concepts and measurement applications. Additional work would be useful in establishing studies with activity-based costing for both research and managerial purposes. Studies of economies of scope are particularly relevant because of the integration of social services and criminal justice in drug abuse treatment. In the long run, managerial initiatives to improve the administration and quality of drug abuse treatment will benefit directly from research with new information on costing techniques.