In October 2023, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) released the Fourth Edition of the ASAM Criteria. The updates improved the quality of care in addiction treatment. Staying up-to-date with the latest updates in the behavioral health industry is important for clinicians. This helps them better support their clients as they work towards recovery.
The ASAM Criteria Assessment evaluates and treats individuals who have both addiction and mental health issues. The assessment helps in understanding the needs of these individuals. It guides healthcare professionals in providing appropriate care and treatment.
The goal is to address both addiction and mental health issues simultaneously for better outcomes. It looks at six key areas of a client’s life:
Based on the assessment, the ASAM Criteria help determine the best level of care for the client. These levels range from early intervention and outpatient services to intensive inpatient treatment and medically managed intensive inpatient services.
The addition of “Person-Centered Considerations,” the sixth dimension to the fourth edition of the ASAM Criteria, considers a client’s social determinants of health and other barriers to healthcare.
Some Social Determinants of Health to consider when addressing substance abuse disorder can include:
ASAM updates target populations with healthcare barriers, like incarcerated individuals, those with cognitive impairments, and adolescents. The fourth edition promotes incorporating technology into treatment, like telehealth or mobile services, to address transportation challenges. The ASAM Criteria update changed the language to be more inclusive of the client's cultural background.
These updates can help your clinic be more fair and accessible when treating clients. They can also assist clinicians in creating personalized treatment plans.
The Fourth Edition of the ASAM Criteria focuses on personalized treatment plans for individuals in recovery. Providers can tailor these plans to meet each person's specific needs, and clients prefer this approach over a one-size-fits-all method.
Stages of recovery can include:
The fourth edition includes standards across different care levels that support smoother transitions between stages of treatment and recovery. This ensures clients don’t experience interruptions between programs and promotes comprehensive care.
The ASAM Criteria updated to include co-occurring disorders. This change helps clinicians better understand a client's health and gives a clearer picture of their overall well-being. The second part of the ASAM Criteria standards includes assessing if the client requires medical care. Clinicians can adjust the treatment plan to include physical health services if necessary.
Examples of co-occurring conditions could include:
The goal is to determine if the client needs additional physical health services. Clinicians can consider the client's current medical treatment to create a custom treatment plan.
Being physically sick can negatively affect clients' ability to heal mentally. This dimension should involve clinicians communicating effectively between providers, labs, HIEs, and other health organizations to provide optimal care.
Behavioral health clinicians should study the updates in the ASAM Criteria Fourth Edition as it will affect the way they provide addiction treatment and/or substance abuse care.
The changes to the ASAM Criteria reflect the evolving landscape of addiction medicine. Keep yourself informed about the new ASAM criteria and adjust your practice accordingly.
With an EHR, Practice Management, and Billing system integrated with the updated ASAM Criteria, clinicians can improve the quality of care with a seamless recovery journey (with features like patient referral orders and interoperability with outside providers). Patagonia Health's behavioral health solutions include the ASAM Criteria, 4th edition. Together, let's continue to pave the way for improved client outcomes and the overall quality of addiction treatment.