New Federal Regulations for Improving Quality in Opioid Treatment Programs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has enforced federal requirements related to the use of methadone since 1972; regulations essentially have not changed for nearly 30 years. With Congress' recently released federal regulations for opioid treatment programs (OTPs), however, oversight of OTPs has shifted from the FDA to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment developed guidelines for accreditation agencies such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission...CARF to develop standards for OTPs. Preliminary findings show that OTPs are indeed able to meet these accreditation standards. This article reviews the need for the changes, the history of methadone treatment oversight, the development of accreditation requirements, stakeholders' initial response to the proposed regulations, and performance domains of importance to OTPs.
Pelletier
Luc R
LR
Luc R. Pelletier is a healthcare consultant in Washington, DC, and is Editor-in-Chief of JHQ. When he wrote this article, he was project director for the Performance Measurement for Treatment Improvement (PMTI) project at Danya International, Inc., in Silver Spring, MD. In October 2001, Pelletier was the recipient of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Excellence in Leadership Award–Advanced.
Hoffman
Jeffrey A
JA