A team headed by Allen Goodman, economics, has received an award from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Foundation. The 1997 Excellence in Research Award carries a $10,000 prize and honors researchers who make significant contributions toward improving health care in Michigan through published research focusing on health or medical care.

The article "Long-Term Alcoholism Treatment Costs" (co-authored with Eleanor Nishiura, Janet R. Hankin, Harold D. Holder, and John M. Tilford)appeared in the December 1996 issue of Medical Care Research and Review. The underlying study examined the efficient provision of alcoholism treatment by determining how several factors predict long-term alcoholism treatment costs. The team conducted an integrated analysis of the decision to seek alcoholism treatment, the treatment location (inpatient or outpatient), and treatment costs conditional on treatment location. They sought to determine whether increased or alternative treatments in the short-term influence treatment costs in the long term.

The authors found that the probability of long-term treatment depends on whether the diagnosis is for alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence, and whether another substance abuse-related condition (or comorbidity) is present. Comorbidities impact long-term costs by influencing where treatment occurs. Increased short-term treatment has a small offsetting effect on long-term costs for patients with alcohol dependence diagnoses, but only a negligible effect on patients diagnosed with alcohol abuse. Most of the treatment costs for either group, however, occur in the short term.

Goodman and Hankin are professors of economics and sociology respectively at Wayne State University. Nishiura recently retired as a research associate in the department of economics. Holder is director of the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley, California, and Tilford (a 1993 Ph.D. recipient from Wayne State) is assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.