4th Edition of The ASAM Criteria® – October Public Comment
4th Edition of The ASAM Criteria® – October Public Comment
R. Corey Waller, MD, MS, FACEP, DFASAM
Editor-in-Chief, The ASAM Criteria 4th Edition
The Next Chapter of The ASAM Criteria – Public Comment Requested by Nov 11th
If you walk into any emergency department in the United States and complain of chest pain, you will set off a cascade of events that are specially constructed to ensure you are placed in the right level of care, for the shortest amount of time, and with the correct array of services. These protocols weren’t developed by mistake or happenstance but by utilizing all available evidence to determine the best course of treatment given the severity of the illness identified.
Over the past 30 years, ASAM has led the establishment and expansion of such a system with The ASAM Criteria. This framework has provided invaluable guidance for the treatment of addiction in the context of the American healthcare system.
In February of this year, the proposed major updates to the 4th Edition of The ASAM Criteria were shared for public comment. These updates were designed to decrease ambiguity and improve the implementation of The ASAM Criteria. The feedback we received during that time has been critical for guiding our work developing detailed standards over the last seven months. This work has included the convening of 17 writing groups comprised of a multidisciplinary set of expert volunteers representing different levels of care and patient subpopulations. Each expert group has been guided by a streamlined methodology, including structured literature searches, facilitated consensus development meetings, and a modified Delphi process.
Through their dedicated and collaborative work, these groups have generated core standards that reflect the basic elements of the 4th Edition of The ASAM Criteria. As such, we are again requesting public feedback from diverse stakeholders on these standards from Monday, October 3rd to Friday, November 11th.
While the varied levels of care and treatment challenges associated with addiction may seem daunting, so is the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. Yet we have managed to build systems of care that allow for access to high-quality specialty level care for the latter.
We owe it to those suffering from addiction to develop nothing less sophisticated and predictable.
Please join us in making this vision a reality by sharing your views today.
R. Corey Waller, MD, MS, FACEP, DFASAM
Editor-in-Chief, The ASAM Criteria 4th Edition