American Society of Addiciton Medicine

ASAM Criteria Fourth Edition Assessment Guides

https://downloads.asam.org/sitefinity-production-blobs/docs/default-source/quality-science/asam_loc-assessment-guide-print_all.pdf?sfvrsn=5fc96488_1

ASAM Criteria

ASAM Criteria Fourth Edition Assessment Guides

This addiction treatment resource supports increased quality and consistency of patient assessments and individualized, patient-centered care.

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The Fourth Edition of The ASAM Criteria describes three types of multidimensional assessment:

  1. The Level of Care Assessment which collects just enough information across dimensions to select an appropriate level of care.
  2. The Treatment Planning Assessment which is a full biopsychosocial assessment used to develop a comprehensive treatment plan.
  3. Repeated assessments to support treatment plan updates, measurement-based care, and inform level of care transitions.  

These assessments are used at different points along a patient’s journey through the continuum of care. ASAM is releasing a series of Assessment Guides to support these multidimensional assessments. These guides will aim to standardize decision-making and documentation in alignment with The ASAM Criteria to support level of care recommendation and selection, utilization review, and treatment planning. Please see below for further information on these guides and their intended use.

Please provide feedback on these forms as they become available.

 

 

 

patient journey once they enter treatment

Level of Care Assessment Guide

The ASAM Criteria® Fourth Edition Level of Care Assessment Guide was developed by ASAM and pilot tested by UCLA Integrated Substance Use and Addiction Programs (ISAP). It is a streamlined tool that helps clinical interviewers collect just enough information to make an appropriate level of care recommendation. It supports level of care recommendations using the Dimensional Admission Criteria. It is free and available for use by treatment providers.

The Guide is intended to standardize decision-making related to level of care recommendation and selection and support utilization review and identification of immediate needs. It should be used prior to the patient beginning treatment. It may be conducted before the patient gets to a level of care (eg, in a call center or other central intake center,) or it may be conducted in a treatment program prior to admission. It is conducted before the full biopsychosocial Treatment Planning Assessment, which typically occurs post-admission.

The Guide includes patient-directed and interviewer assessment questions for all dimensions, Risk Rating tables for Dimensions 1 through 5, appendices to support Risk Rating decision-making, and a Dimension 6 section to support level of care selection.

Thank you to Los Angeles, Riverside, Siskiyou, and Ventura counties for their participation in pilot testing, and especially to the clinicians who volunteered their time to pilot test the Guide.

 

Download with instructions and appendices:

Download Guide & Print       Fillable Guide coming soon

Download without instructions and appendices:

Download Guide & Print        Fillable Guide coming soon

Project Team

ASAM (Development)

Subject Matter Experts:

  • Itai Danovitch, MD, MBA, FAPA, DFASAM
  • Eman Gibson, MBA, LCSW, LCADC
  • J. Gregory Hobelmann, MD, MPH
  • John Smith, PhD, LCSW

ASAM Staff:

  • Anna Pagano, PhD
  • Michelle Niculescu, PhD, LPC
  • Maureen Boyle, PhD
  • Radhika Sagar Verma, OTR/L, MS

UCLA (Pilot Testing)

ISAP Staff:

  • Anne B. Lee, LCSW
  • Darren Urada, PhD

Pilot Testers:

  • Clinicians from central intake call centers and addiction treatment programs in the following California counties:
    • Los Angeles
    • Siskiyou
    • Riverside
    • Ventura 


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      Treatment Planning Assessment Guide

      Once the patient begins treatment, a Treatment Planning Assessment is used to n individualized  treatment plan. ASAM and UCLA are currently developing the Treatment Planning Assessment, but ASAM has created a Treatment Planning Template to assist clinicians in preparing treatment plans. 

       

       

      Reassessment Guide

      Throughout treatment patients are regularly reassessed for treatment progress as well as new signs, symptoms, or concerns. Reassessment should guide updates to the treatment plan and determinations regarding transition to a more or less intensive level of care. ASAM and UCLA anticipate beginning work on the reassessment guides, one for outpatient programs and another for residential settings, in 2025.

       

      What is The ASAM Criteria®

      The ASAM Criteria defines the standards for conducting a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment to inform patient placement and treatment planning. These standards describe six dimensions that should be assessed, including:

      1. Intoxication, Withdrawal, and Addiction Medications
      2. Biomedical Conditions
      3. Psychiatric and Cognitive Conditions
      4. Substance Use-Related Risks
      5. Recovery Environment Interactions
      6. Person-Centered Considerations

      The ASAM Criteria also provides standards for rating the patient’s risks in each subdimension and dimensional admission criteria for determining the least intensive, but safe level of care for meeting the patient’s individual treatment needs. 

      Resources