ASAM Criteria

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ASAM Criteria

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The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) ASAM Criteria is the most widely used and comprehensive set of guidelines for placement, continued stay, transfer, or discharge of patients with addiction and co-occurring conditions. Formerly known as the ASAM patient placement criteria, The ASAM Criteria is the result of a collaboration that began in the 1980s to define one national set of criteria for providing outcome- oriented and results-based care in the treatment of addiction. The ASAM Criteria is useful to patients, treatment providers, managed care providers, and other stakeholders and professionals.

Many states across the country are using The ASAM Criteria as the foundation of their efforts to improve the addiction treatment system. Adolescent and adult treatment plans are developed through a multidimensional patient assessment over five broad levels of treatment that are based on the degree of direct medical management provided, the structure, safety and security provided and the intensity of treatment services provided.