Guidelines on completion of the form

The S.A.M. Collaborative Project

The aim of the project is to give service providers who participate, good quality information on the utilization of services by clients, paying particular attention to the effectiveness of treatment interventions, by measuring outcomes in terms of the clients' quality of life. Resulting data will also be of great benefit to purchasers and commissioners of substance misuse services.

As well as providing quality data at a local level, the data can be forwarded and included in the Department of Health regional and national statistics.

The project is supervised by the Addiction Resource Agency for commissioners at the Centre for Addiction Studies, St George's Hospital Medical School.

WHO the form is about

Any client with whom you have contact who has a recent substance problem of any kind. A broad view of substance use is adopted, including all psychoactive drugs with the exclusion only of tobacco. Prescribed drugs (such as benzodiazepines) should be included as well as over-thecounter preparations (such as codeine linctus). Alcohol use should also be recorded in the appropriate slot provided in the Substance Profile table.

WHEN to complete the form

Please complete a form when the client first presents to your agency, and whenever a new episode of substance use starts. A new episode starts when a person with substance-related problems either goes to a particular agency for the first time, or returns to a particular agency after an interval of 6 months or more.

WHO completes the form

This form is intended for completion by a staff member who has interviewed a client. It is not intended as a self-completion form for drug users.