November 14, 2007

Effectiveness of Prometa Treatment Protocol in Pierce County Drug Courts

The Pierce County, Washington, Performance Audit Committee auditors assessed the cost effectiveness and success of the Prometa pilot project. They reviewed the degree that the evidence of success meets industry standards, the success rates of other Prometa pilot projects, the status of a planned Prometa study by the University of Washington, and if the Prometa treatment is an effective use of county tax dollars.

The auditors reviewed data from the Pierce County Alliance (PCA), a non-profit drug and alcohol treatment organization, which administered the Prometa treatment for the Pierce County 2006 pilot project. The auditors also reviewed Hythiam marketing materials about the Pierce County program.

A key finding was that PCA said that 86% of 40 participants in the pilot program remained drug-free 14 months and counted participants as drug-free if they did not test positive for drugs in the 60 days prior to the end of the program; the auditors said the drug-free rate was actually only 50% based on the standard of drug-free since the start of Prometa treatment that was presented in Hythiam press releases about the program.