What Manual Follow-Up Really Costs

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, relapse rates for substance use disorders are 40 to 60 percent. That is similar to the rates for other chronic illnesses like hypertension and asthma. NIDA is clear that relapse doesn’t mean treatment failed. It means the person needs care to resume or be adjusted. NIDA Programs can only respond to a relapse they know about.

Research supports staying in touch. In one randomized trial, adults leaving residential treatment received telephone continuing care for 90 days. Of that group, 79% started continuing care, compared with 37% of those who got usual care alone. Godley et al., 2010

Picture a typical 90-day follow-up plan. Each person gets around 19 check-ins and 4 standard measures such as the PHQ-9. Done by phone, a check-in takes roughly 8 minutes once you count dialing, voicemails and notes. A measure takes about 10 minutes. Coordinating the whole effort adds a few hours a month per site.

For a program discharging 20 people a month, that comes to about 68 staff hours every month.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median wage for substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health counselors was $28.53 an hour in May 2025. BLS At that rate, 68 hours a month costs a program around $1,900 in staff time. That figure leaves out benefits and overhead. It also leaves out the calls that never get made because the day ran out.

These numbers are assumptions, and your program’s will differ. Our savings calculator lets you enter your own.

Automated check-ins don’t replace your team. They change where the team spends its time. Routine check-ins go out on their own and responses are recorded automatically. Staff only call the people who say they’re struggling, or who stop responding. Under the same assumptions, the program above would spend about 22 hours a month on follow-up instead of 68. More people get reached, and nobody spends the afternoon leaving voicemails.