	Opioid Treatment

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-OTP 20: Personnel

Opioid treatment program personnel are trained and competent to carry out tasks related to their positions.

PA-OTP 20.01

A medical director assumes responsibility for:

administering medical services; and
carrying out other duties prescribed by law or regulation to be assumed by a physician in an opioid treatment program.

PA-OTP 20.02

The medical director and program administrator or sponsor stay current with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations applicable to opioid treatment programs.

PA-OTP 20.03

The clinical team makes level of care, treatment, and termination-of-service decisions with service recipients and includes the participation of a physician in the review and decision-making process.

Interpretation: A physician, often in the role of a consultant, supervises and prescribes needed medical care or examinations.

PA-OTP 20.04

All personnel and consulting providers are annually screened for tuberculosis and receive a hepatitis B vaccination if they are considered to be at risk for exposure to hepatitis.

PA-OTP 20.05

Personnel receive ongoing in-service training about:

the concept of addiction as a disease;
establishing a working alliance with individuals receiving treatment;
the goals of opioid treatment in regard to other drug use;
the latest information, theories, and techniques in identification, diagnosis, and treatment of alcohol and other drug problems, including the harm reduction model; and
interventions that demonstrate respect for sociocultural values, personal goals, lifestyle choices, and complex family interactions.

Research Note: There are many factors associated with retention of participants in treatment, including severity of psychiatric symptoms. Research suggests that a therapeutic alliance is associated with treatment outcomes, and individuals with more severe psychiatric symptoms are more likely to complete treatment if they have a strong alliance with the service provider.

PA-OTP 20.06

Ongoing in-service training for personnel also addresses:

relapse prevention;
recognition of co-occurring health and mental health conditions and integrated services available to meet them;
management of drug overdose;
special treatment needs of women;
criminal justice issues, as appropriate;
the benefits and limitations of tests that screen for drug use; and
HIV/AIDS symptoms, risk-reduction and infection control guidelines, testing, and counseling techniques and skills.

LAST UPDATED 11/05/07

PA-OTP 20.07

Direct service personnel workloads support the achievement of client outcomes, are regularly reviewed, and are based on an assessment of the following:

the qualifications, competencies, and experience of the worker, including the level of supervision needed;
the work and time required to accomplish assigned tasks and job responsibilities; and
service volume, accounting for assessed level of needs of new and current clients and referrals.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Individuals who participate in Opioid Treatment Programs improve social, emotional, and vocational functioning, achieve optimal productivity, and attain the recovery they seek.

RELATED FILES


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	PROGRAM PERSONNEL All direct service and administrators or supervisors of direct services that are involved in the operation of the organization's social service programs. "Program personnel" does not include MIS, accounting, facilities, clerical, or other staff that are not involved in the provision or oversight of direct services.


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CLINICAL The study, assessment, and diagnosis of the client situation followed by direct treatment to help the client achieve prescribed goals.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	CONSULTANT A person who provides specialized or technical advice or services to an organization for specific purposes on a contractual or fee basis, or who provides such services as a volunteer with an agreement to provide services on a pro bono basis.


	PRESCRIBE To issue lawful order from a practitioner for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a specific client that is communicated directly to a pharmacist in a licensed pharmacy.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards


	IN-SERVICE TRAINING Educational programs provided by an organization to help personnel become more knowledgeable, skilled, and effective in accomplishing specific tasks or meeting the overall objectives of the organization. Such training often occurs on the job and for short time periods.


	DIAGNOSIS The process by which a social, physical, or mental health problem and its underlying cause are identified and a plan of action formulated toward resolution of the problem. The diagnostic process involves collection and analysis of relevant information. See also ASSESSMENT.


	TERMINATION See CASE CLOSING


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	PREVENTION Actions taken to minimize and/or eliminate social, psychological, or other conditions. Prevention can occur at the individual, group, community, and societal levels and enhances opportunities to achieve positive fulfillment.


	SCREEN A preliminary test administered to a client to determine whether he/she meets eligibility criteria for the services offered by an organization.


	WORKLOAD The amount of work assigned to or expected from a person within a specified period of time. See also CASELOAD.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	SUPERVISION Assumption of responsibility for directly overseeing and evaluating the work or work products of personnel within an organization. Also includes inspecting the act or process of accomplishing a function or activity.


	REFERRALS Resource suggestions provided to consumers to address problems or needs that are beyond the scope of the organization's mission.