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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 12. Health
Agency 35. Department of Behavioral Health And Developmental Services
Chapter 105. Rules and Regulations for Licensing Providers by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
12/22/2024

12VAC35-105-935. Criteria for patient admission.

A. Before a medication assisted opioid treatment program may admit an individual, the individual shall meet the criteria for admission as defined by the provider's policies. The provider's policy regarding admission shall at a minimum require the individual to (i) meet diagnostic criteria for opioid use disorder as defined within the DSM; and (ii) meet the admission criteria of Level 1.0 of ASAM. The policies shall be consistent with subsections B through E of this section.

B. A medication assisted opioid treatment program shall maintain current procedures that are designed to ensure that individuals are admitted to short-term or long-term detoxification treatment by qualified personnel, such as a program physician who determines that such treatment is appropriate for the specific individual by applying established diagnostic criteria. An individual with two or more unsuccessful detoxification episodes within a 12-month period must be assessed by the medication assisted opioid treatment program physician for other forms of treatment. A program shall not admit an individual for more than two detoxification treatment episodes in one year.

C. A medication assisted opioid treatment program shall maintain current procedures designed to ensure that individuals are admitted to maintenance treatment by qualified personnel who have determined, using accepted medical criteria, that the person is currently addicted to an opioid drug, and that the individual became addicted at least one year before admission for treatment. In addition, a program physician shall ensure that each individual voluntarily chooses maintenance treatment, that all relevant facts concerning the use of the opioid drug are clearly and adequately explained to the individual, and that each individual provides informed written consent to treatment.

D. A person younger than 18 years of age is required to have had two documented unsuccessful attempts at short-term detoxification or drug-free treatment within a 12-month period to be eligible for maintenance treatment. No individual younger than 18 years of age may be admitted to maintenance treatment unless parent, legal guardian, or responsible adult designated by the relevant state authority consents in writing to such treatment.

E. If clinically appropriate, the program physician may waive the requirement of a one-year history of addiction under subsection C of this section, for individuals released from penal institutions (within six months after release), for pregnant patients (program physician must certify pregnancy), and for previously treated individuals (up to two years after discharge).

Statutory Authority

§§ 37.2-302 and 37.2-400 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 39, Issue 11, eff. February 17, 2023.

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