The MERIT Evaluation Report reviews the impact of MERIT on health services utilisation. The evaluation assesses if the frequency of health service utilisation is different between people referred to MERIT compared to their matched controls.
The evaluation also examines differences between the two groups in the number of alcohol and other drug (AOD) related Emergency Department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions, high acuity ED presentations, and total length of hospital stay.
The evaluation found an increased health service utilisation with decreased length of hospital stay among people referred to MERIT. This supports the assumption that AOD treatment within MERIT may be addressing barriers to health service utilisation. The report also identifies policy and service planning implications of these findings and suggestions for future research.