	Opioid Treatment

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-OTP 21: Personnel Qualifications

The agency retains, or contracts with, personnel who are credentialed to work with service recipients.

PA-OTP 21.01

The medical director is a licensed physician experienced in opioid treatment and substance use services.

PA-OTP 21.02

Direct service personnel are qualified by one of the following:

an advanced degree in social work, medicine, psychology, pastoral counseling, marriage and family counseling, mental health or substance use counseling, or psychiatric nursing, and in-service or other training in the treatment of substance use conditions;
a bachelor’s degree in social work or a related human service field with specialized training and experience in the area of substance use treatment;
certification by the designated authority when the state has a mechanism for certifying drug abuse counselors;
personal experience with drug use recovery and specialized training and demonstrated skills in the area of substance use treatment; or
specific and relevant training in the treatment of substance use and a minimum of two years’ work experience in a substance use treatment service.

PA-OTP 21.03

Supervisors are qualified by:

an advanced degree in a human service field from an accredited institution and a minimum of two years’ post-graduate professional experience; and/or
specialized training and experience in substance use diagnosis and treatment and additional training in supervision; and/or
certification by the designated authority in their state as approved drug counseling supervisors.

PA-OTP 21.04

Personnel who administer and dispense opioid treatment medication are:

practitioners licensed and registered under the appropriate federal and state laws; or
supervised by a licensed practitioner.

Interpretation: In some states, practitioners other than licensed physicians are permitted to administer and dispense opioid treatment medications. An “agent” must be a pharmacist, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or a healthcare professional authorized by federal and/or state law to administer and dispense opioid treatment medication.

PA-OTP 21.05

Social work, medical, psychological, and psychiatric consultants with specialized training in the treatment of substance use are available through formal agreement when not represented among the agency’s personnel.

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	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.


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	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


	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.


	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.


	ADVANCED DEGREE A degree at the Master's level or beyond from an institution of higher education. An advanced degree does not include a Bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or an educational certificate.


	SOCIAL WORK Professionally responsible interventions carried out by persons with formal, professional education at the BSW or MSW level from an accredited school of social work and appropriate licensing, certification, and registration credentials. Interventions are directed toward improving the transactions between people and environments to enhance the adaptive capacities of the participants and improve environments for all that function within them. Social work is a professional practice with a consumer group consisting of individuals, families, small groups, organizations, neighborhoods, and communities and involving the disciplined application of knowledge and skill.


	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."


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	CERTIFICATION Assurance from a state or professional association that a person or organization possesses certain attributes, knowledge, or skills.


	DESIGNATED AUTHORITY A body specifically empowered to, or having jurisdiction to, perform certain activities, such as review audits.


	ADMINISTER The act of giving a single dose of a prescribed drug to a client by an authorized person in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations governing such acts. The complete act entails removing an individual dose from a previously dispensed, properly labeled container (including a unit dose container), verifying it with a physician's order, giving the individual dose to the proper client, and recording the time and dose given.


	DISPENSE The act of processing a drug for delivery to a client pursuant to a practitioner's order. Dispensing medications includes the following: checking the directions on the label against the directions on the prescription or order to determine accuracy; selecting the drug from stock to fill the order; counting, measuring, compounding, or preparing the drug; placing the drug from stock into the proper container; affixing the label to the container; and adding any required notations to a written prescription.


	MEDICATION A prescribed or over-the-counter drug that is injected, taken orally, applied topically, or otherwise administered.


	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.