The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently updated its Federal Guidelines for Opioid Treatment Programs.
The revised guidelines contain updated information on topics such as treatment of pregnant patients and patient withdrawal from medication assisted treatment. The revised guidelines also include new information on topics such as telemedicine, electronic health records, and prescription drug monitoring programs.
According to SAMHSA, the guidelines describe the agency’s expectation of how opioid treatment programs must meet requirements in federal regulations. SAMHSA first published the guidelines in 2001, and last updated them in 2007. In 2012, the agency convened a stakeholder panel to consider updates to the guidelines.
