The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is releasing new Federal Guidelines for Opioid Treatment Programs that align with the new regulations published in February 2024.
These revised guidelines provide recommendations, guidance, and best practices for opioid treatment programs (OTPs) on the implementation and compliance of regulation changes in 42 CFR Part 8. The revised regulation went into effect on April 2, 2024, and the compliance date for OTPs was October 2, 2024.
The revised regulations took historic steps to increase access to lifesaving, evidence-based medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and promote practitioner discretion, support patient-centered care, reduce barriers to treatment, and remove stigmatizing or outdated language from the 2001 regulations. The newly released guidelines replace the guidelines published in 2015.
The new Guidelines provide guidance to OTPS on:
- Creating a healing environment for patients that promotes and sustains engagement through shared decision-making between the patient and practitioner.
- Addressing changes to patient admission criteria and telehealth processes.
- Using clinical decision making and practitioner discretion in providing effective, individualized care within OTPs.
- Developing and implementing procedures to support medication administration, dispensing and use, including procedures related to take-home doses of methadone.
- Integrating trauma-informed principles and practices.
- Providing support for at-risk populations.
- Ensuring availability of medical, counseling, vocational, educational, and other assessment and treatment services.
- Implementing strategies for ensuring continuity of care for patients.
Although the regulations and guidelines are for OTPs, the patient-centered, shared-decision making, reduction in barriers to care, and stigma reducing language, can be implemented by all practitioners and medical practices providing MOUD in all care settings.
SAMHSA is also posting a video series consisting of 14 brief videos explaining the nuances of 42 CFR Part 8 implementation. These videos provide a high-level overview of the first major updates to the regulations in more than two decades.
