This regulation governs the intake process for narcotic treatment programs (opioid treatment programs) in Pennsylvania. Prior to administering any agent, the program must screen each individual for eligibility, verify age (minimum 18), confirm identity, obtain a drug use history, and have a narcotic treatment physician make a face-to-face determination of physiological dependence. The regulation also specifies exceptions to the one-year dependency requirement (e.g., detoxification, pregnant patients, readmissions) and requires the program to inform patients of treatment options, medication pharmacology, overdose signs, and grievance procedures.
View official source28 Pa. Code § 715.9 - Intake State Regulations Compare (a) Prior to administration of an agent, a narcotic treatment program shall screen each individual to determine eligibility for admission. The narcotic treatment program shall: (1) Verify that the individual has reached 18 years of age. (2) Verify the individual's identity, including name, address, date of birth, emergency contact and other identifying data. (3) Obtain a drug use history and current drug use status of the individual. (4) Have a narcotic treatment physician make a face-to-face determination of whether an individual is currently physiologically dependent upon a narcotic drug and has been physiologically dependent for at least 1 year prior to admission for maintenance treatment. The narcotic treatment physician shall document in the patient's record the basis for the determination of current dependency and evidence of a 1 year history of addiction. (b) Exceptions to the requirements in subsection (a) are: (1) A 1 year history of physiologic dependency is not required for detoxification or for pregnant patients. (2) Upon readmitting a patient who has been out of a narcotic treatment program for 6 months or less after a voluntary termination, the narcotic treatment program shall update the information in and review the patient's file to show current opiate narcotic dependency, but need not conduct a physical examination and applicable laboratory tests. Privileges earned during the previous treatment may be reinstated at the discretion of the narcotic treatment physician. (3) A patient who has been treated and later detoxified from comprehensive maintenance treatment may be readmitted to maintenance treatment, without evidence to support findings of current physiologic dependence, up to 2 years after discharge, if the following conditions are met: (i) The narcotic treatment program attended is able to document prior narcotic drug comprehensive maintenance treatment of 6 months or more. (ii) The admitting narcotic treatment physician, exercising reasonable clinical judgment, finds readmission to comprehensive maintenance treatment to be medically justified. (c) If a patient was previously discharged from treatment at another narcotic treatment program, the admitting narcotic treatment program, with patient consent, shall contact the previous facility for the treatment history. (d) A narcotic treatment program shall explain to each patient treatment options; pharmacology of methadone, LAAM and other agents, including signs and symptoms of overdose and when to seek emergency assistance; detoxification rights; grievance procedures; and clinic charges, including the fee agreement signed by the patient. (e) A narcotic treatment program shall secure a personal history from the patient within the first week of admission. The personal history shall be made a part of the patient record. Notes 28 Pa. Code § 715.9 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare. No prior version found. State Regulations Toolbox