ASAM & CARF Changes & Requirements
The American Society of Addiction (ASAM) & CARF International announced on October 15th 2018 that a national program for addiction treatment centers to help deliver effective, and consistent national guidelines for care. This new program will be a comprehensive assessment to a specific level of care for the patient.
ASAM & CARF plan to begin certification by 2019. In order to obtain a CARF certification, facilities must be able to display the ability to deliver services at the level of care as defined by ASAM. Certification is valid for 3 years. These new parameters will greatly affect those coming to seek treatment. Higher quality care will then be within a patient’s reach. Also, more qualified, and trained personnel will be able to give aide, counseling, and guidance to help those trying to over come the harshness of substance abuse.
Currently, just three drugs exist to treat opioid use disorder: buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. Adherence to the drugs is typically low, and addiction treatment experts have long said MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) is vastly underutilized, calling for expanded access to existing options, and the development of more drugs beyond the existing three.
MAT can work one of two ways. One of which the drug is administered to those suffering abuse, and the drug is absorbed into the blood stream which starves off withdrawal. This way helps break the psychological link the patient has with a drug, for example, heroine. OR the patient can receive an opioid antagonist. This way, if the patient decides to take a hard substance, the patient cannot feel the drugs effects, blocking that triggered high. However, the complication with the latter is, if the patient forgets to take the antagonist, it can have deadly consequences.
The effectiveness of MAT is summed up in this statement from Dr. Nora Volkow – “I don’t think that there’s any areas where the data is shaky. It clearly shows better outcomes with medication-assisted therapy than without it,” Volkow said. “Studies have shown that outcomes are much better when you are on medication-assisted therapy. For one, it decreases risk of relapse — significantly. Second, MAT has also been shown to be effective in preventing infectious diseases like HIV. Third, medication-assisted therapy has been shown to be effective in preventing overdoses,” she said.
To further handle effectively with these changes in certification, licensure, and patient care, substance abuse billing is imperative. Inner Circle Billing specializes in patient focused services. Not only do our staff know the procedures, and medical codes, which are the firm foundation of billing, the staff is further trained at substance abuse. We strive to understand a patient struggles so that we can further assist them, and the treatment center with the correct information for the most quality of care.
Inner Circle Billing recognizes the particulars of substance abuse, and medical billing codes. Together, we work hand in hand, as a highly effective team, with other treatment centers along with insurance companies. We strive to make certain all services rendered are billed correctly, and compensation given directly with extreme effectiveness. Inner Circle Billing also works with other centers in behavioral health. There is not a stone we will not upturn to give our facilities the truest form of billing knowledge as it is absolutely critical to get it right the first time.
For every level of care billed, our facilities know that they can rest assured that their center is taken care of with dedication, and appreciation. From verification of benefits, to analysis, to collections, Inner Circle Billing stays up to date on all medical, substance abuse, and behavioral health codes, and knowledge so you can enjoy a successful return.