UK monitoring of problem drug users: the drug misuse database - a system based on regional centres.

UK drug treatment policy aims to reduce the harm to individuals and communities resulting from drug misuse through multidisciplinary community services, prescribing, detoxification and rehabilitation facilities. Drug Misuse Databases (DMD) were set up in England, Wales and Scotland in 1990 to monitor treatment demand; that in Northern Ireland is under development. The regional base of these DMDs provides good local context and data specificity, while periodic collation of regional data by the Department of Health provides national analyses. DMD will be able to deliver the TDI dataset with only minor adjustments, following harmonisation between the constituent UK countries.