Standards to Improve Addiction Care and Support Recovery

The standards within The ASAM Criteria aim to increase access to high-quality care that can improve the health and well-being of all people impacted by addiction.

The ASAM Criteria offers an evidence-based, standardized, and organized way to connect people with substance use disorder (SUD) to services based on their individual needs and circumstances. These standards provide a framework for organizing addiction treatment systems and a foundation for state and national efforts to advance the quality of addiction care. 

Last updated in 2023, The ASAM Criteria provides a consistent way to:

 

Assess a Person's Medical, Psychological, and Social Needs

 

Develop an Individualized Treatment Plan

 

Match Patients to the Right Level of Care

 

Define What Services Should Be Offered at Each Level of Care

Use of The ASAM Criteria can increase patient engagement, improve outcomes, and reduce under or over treatment.

As America continues to grapple with high rates of SUD and overdose, there is an urgent need to improve the quality and delivery of patient-centered care. By rooting SUD prevention and treatment in one common framework such as The ASAM Criteria, we can ensure that everyone who provides, covers, or uses SUD services are “speaking the same language” and aligning clinical recommendations and insurance coverage with evidence-based practices.

DOWNLOAD THE SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE TOOLKIT

Promoting Person-Centered Care

Addiction is a complex chronic disease that affects each person differently. The ASAM Criteria has several guiding principles that promote care that is personalized and responsive to a patient’s unique medical, social, and psychological circumstances.  

The ASAM Criteria, Fourth Edition Volumes

The Fourth Edition of The ASAM Criteria will be released in four volumes, and uses a rigorous methodology for evidence review and formal consensus development under the guidance of editorial subcommittees. 

* As a condition of your access to The ASAM Criteria and other ASAM intellectual property, you agree not to input such content and information into any artificial intelligence system.

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Who Uses The ASAM Criteria?

Clinicians

• Assess a patient's biopsychosocial needs
• Match a patient to an appropriate level of care
• Work with patients to develop and implement individualized treatment plans

Patients & Families

• Learn about, anticipate, and understand treatment options
• Understand how social environments, biomedical conditions, mental health, and more impact treatment and recovery

Payers

• Align coverage with nationally recognized clinical standards
• Work with clinicians to ensure health plan participants receive the least intensive, but safe and effective treatment
• Establish networks of treatment providers to support patient access to the full continuum of care

Policymakers

• Organize statewide treatment systems using The ASAM Criteria as a foundation for quality care standards
• Encourage programs to meet defined service characteristics, such as staffing and support requirements at each level of care

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Components of The ASAM Criteria

 

 

Level of Care Assessment

Used when a patient enters addiction treatment to identify their clinical needs.

GET THE ASSESSMENT GUIDE

 

Decision Rules

The results of the Level of Care Assessment are applied to the Dimension Admission Criteria, which take into account a patient’s needs, obstacles and liabilities, as well as their strengths, assets, resources, and support structure. Subdimensions in bold inform level of care recommendations and initial treatment for immediate needs; however, all subdimensions are considered for treatment planning purposes.

 

Dimension 1: Intoxication, Withdrawal, and Addiction Medications Intoxication and Associated Risks Withdrawal and Associated Risks Addiction Medication Needs	Dimension 4: Substance Use-Related Risks Likelihood of Risky Substance Use Likelihood of Risky SUD-Related Behaviors
Dimension 2: Biomedical Conditions Physical Health Concerns Pregnancy-Related Concerns Sleep Problems	Dimension 5: Recovery Environment Interactions Ability to Function in Current Environment Safety in Current Environment Support in Current Environment Cultural Perceptions of Substance Use
Dimension 3: Psychiatric and Cognitive Conditions Active Psychiatric Concerns Persistent Disability Cognitive Functioning Trauma Exposure and Related Needs Psychiatric and Cognitive History	Dimension 6: Person-Centered Considerations Patient Preferences Barriers to Care Need for Motivational Enhancement

 

Continuum of Care

The ASAM Criteria defines standards of the different levels of care across the continuum, describing the setting, staffing, service intensity, and other core elements at each level of care.

As a patient moves through treatment, they are regularly reassessed. The transition and continued service criteria are applied to determine if the patient is ready to move to a less intensive level of care, requires a more intensive level of care, or should continue at the current level of care.

 

 

See the Adolescent Continuum of Care here.

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Further Reading and Resources

About The ASAM Criteria and its History

ASAM Criteria Software

Implementation Tools

ASAM Criteria Training

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