Integrating a Substance Abuse Program into a Mental Health Facility

There are many behavior health operations that have incorporated an alcohol and drug addiction program into their lineup of treatment services.  If your facility is one that hasn’t yet, doing so could be an opportunity to increase revenue.  Chemical dependency treatment is a logical extension to the services already being provided at most mental health clinics, whether it be an inpatient or outpatient setting.  The modalities are similar and it doesn’t require a significant amount of additional staff.

The first step is to contact your regional State licensing division to find out what the requirements are.  Regulations may vary from state to state.  It may just be a matter of completing an application for review and approval.  In addition to the mental health clinicians that are already employed at your facility (social workers, psychologists, psychiatrist, medical doctors, etc.) each state has a particular certification for an alcoholism and substance abuse counselor.  Obtaining the proper licensure to provide addiction treatment services will undoubtedly require these types of professions to be included in your roster.

As you may know, many patients diagnosed with mental health disorders are dually diagnosed with substance abuse and chemical dependency as well.  Adding a drug treatment program to your list of services will not only allow you to accommodate more of your existing patients but it will also enable you to receive referrals from other agencies as well.

Unlike most mental health services, substance abuse treatment is predominately provided in a group setting, which is not only cost effective for the facility but also clinically sound.  Alcoholics and drug addicts have a tendency to feel as if they are alone in dealing with their problems.  Listening to other members in the group will help them to understand that they are not alone in dealing with their addiction problems.  Also, if one of the patients relapses, it’s very common for the other group members to take a vested interest in their other group members’ sobriety efforts.  Even if the feedback received by the other group members appears negative, the impact it makes on the relapsing patient is usually positive.

Having a substance abuse treatment license that enables you to provide these services also creates opportunities for a variety of dual-focus programs that are inevitably needed in many settings.  Also, in the absence of the proper psychotropic medication, many individuals suffering from mental health disorders tend to self-medicate with alcohol and/or drugs.  In cases like this, treating the mental health diagnosis alone is inadequate.

From a financial perspective, many times the reimbursement rates for substance abuse treatment services tend to be higher than mental health services.  For patients with private insurance that are covered under managed care plans, it can also be easier to get substance abuse treatment authorized than mental health at times.  If there is a dual diagnosis, facilities have a better chance of getting treatment authorization from the managed care company for at least one of the diagnoses, increasing the facilities chance for reimbursement.

For more information on how to integrate a substance abuse program into a mental health facility, please call Ashlar Consulting Corporation at 305-849-9399 or visit www.AshlarConsultingCorp.com.