NAATP guidebook not only for residential care

The National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) has released its draft guidebook for minimum standards for members (see ADAW, April 22, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.32334 ). NAATP is not only for residential treatment providers, however. “Our position at NAATP is that we are a membership association for providers along the entire continuum and that, while residential holds an important place in our work and is our historical foundation, our membership is in no way limited to residential,” NAATP Executive Director Marvin Ventrell told ADAW last week. “Even apart from our membership, we intend our resources, including ethics and the guidebook, to reach and guide the entire continuum. It is true that some of the guidelines have application more or less relative to type of care, but as a whole it should be viewed as a provider guide, not just a residential provider guide.” We regret any confusion. The field — and prominent organizations within it — is changing.     

Membership doubles,and NAATP plans more on ethics and outcomes for 2019

The National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) has culled its membership, removing members who don't comply with its ethics guidelines — mainly for marketing purposes. But rather than reducing its total numbers, this move has doubled membership, from 450 in the fall of 2015 to more than 900, NAATP Executive Director Marvin Ventrell told ADAW last week.     

NAATP keeps focus on parity

We need to move beyond the principle of parity into the practice of parity.” These words from Mark Dunn, director of public policy for the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), in an interview with ADAW last week are a sign of the frustration with how parity — the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), which guarantees that substance use disorders (SUDs) will be treated no differently from medical and surgical claims in the world of reimbursement — has been a real‐world disappointment to patients and providers alike.     

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California OIG Blasts In‐Prison Treatment as a Waste of Money Leadership Change at Phoenix House Signals New Growth, National Influence New Head of ADP is Renee Zito AATOD Seeks Reconvening of Federal Opioid Treatment Panel NAATP Salary Survey Released: Resource for HR Directors Reader Responds to ADAW Article About Budget Coming up     

NAATP releases 3‐year pilot outcomes report

Last week, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) released the results of its three‐year Outcomes Pilot Program, in which eight pilot sites tested out a method for a standardized outcomes tracking tool. The project was a success, said NAATP Executive Director Marvin Ventrell on March 12. The project resulted in the Outcomes Measurement Toolkit: The Addiction Treatment Provider Guide to Standardized Outcomes Measurement, which NAATP members can start using now.     

NAATP annual meeting: Measure what you're doing

Last week's annual leadership meeting of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) focused on the quality assurance guidebook coming out from the organization (see “NAATP releases draft guidebook for residential treatment providers,” ADAW, April 22, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.32334 ). It culminated with a visit to Capitol Hill (see story, p. 3).     

AAC statement on NAATP lawsuit

As the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) was beginning its annual leadership meeting May 6, American Addiction Centers sued the organization in federal court (see “AAC sues NAATP for defamation,” ADAW, May 13, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.32362 ). We wanted to provide further information on the lawsuit (which we linked to in our story last week). Below is a statement provided exclusively to ADAW by AAC May 15.     

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Counseling on the Internet Found Effective in Small‐Scale Study In‐Prison Treatment Changing to Reflect Demands for Effectiveness Ariz. Treatment Providers Protest Against Uncompensated Care Diversification Pays? NIDA‐NIAAA Merger Would Hurt Alcoholism Issues, Says NAATP President ‘Committed’ to Filling SAMHSA Administrator Post ADAW Publisher Sponsors National Council's Excellence in Innovation Award Briefly Noted State News Resources Coming up     

Palm Partners sues NAATP for defamation

Palm Partners LLC, a treatment program based in Delray Beach, Florida, has sued the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) for defamation, trade libel and tortious interference. In the lawsuit filed Nov. 30, 2018, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Palm Partners asks for $75,000 plus costs in damages. NAATP firmly denies the claims.     

Hill Day: The three big ‘asks’ from NAATP

At the “Hill Day” event that marked the end of the annual leadership conference of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), 120 association members went to the Senate and House of Representatives to make their case. “I felt it would be successful if we had 50 members who stayed the extra day and did the Hill visits,” Mark Dunn, NAATP policy representative, told ADAW of the May 8 visits. So he was thrilled that so many went.     

Letter to the Editor

In “COMBINE follow‐up: Some heavy use of alcohol compatible with recovery” (see ADAW, Aug. 17, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.32806 ), we wrote about a study by Katie Witkiewitz, Ph.D., published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, showing that some people can be in recovery but still drink heavily. We received the following commentary from Annie Peters, Ph.D., director of research and education at the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP).     

NAATP members are still open,but organization is concerned

Treatment centers are small businesses, with payrolls to meet and rent to pay, like all small businesses. And even if they are protected in terms of not being required to shut down, they are losing patients as a result of COVID‐19. Patients left against medical advice, Mark Dunn, director of public policy with the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), told ADAW last week. New admissions have dwindled to nothing.     

When pricing treatment,know your costs and set your profit margins

Billing, ethics and parity have been hot‐button issues for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment centers for years, but the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) is getting closer to finding solutions. At its annual leadership meeting in Washington last month, members, not to be deterred by a surprise lawsuit on opening day from American Addiction Centers (see ADAW, May 20, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.32368 ), gathered to hear from experts on how to properly conduct billing in a dynamic new environment.     

Industrial injuries in British manufacturing industry and cyclical effects: continuities and discontinuities in industrial injury research

An article appeared in The Sociological Review for May 1990 by Steve Tombs that bore the same title as an earlier one by me (‘Industrial injuries in British manufacturing industry’ May 1986) and which took as its starting point my ‘The business cycle and industrial injuries’ which appeared in August 1989. It is argued here that Tombs's analysis does not represent the step forward that might have been hoped. It is for example extremely important in the analysis of industrial injury rates to pay careful attention to what injury rates of different degrees of severity might measure. Tombs's article is shown to be technically deficient in that he makes mistakes both of fact and interpretation in his treatment of the all reported (or minor) injury rate. Moreover, Tombs advances the claim — in the context of reference to ‘a pure “business cycle” argument à la Nicholsw’ — that ‘a generalised discussion of [business] cycles obscures important aspects of the political economy within individual cycles. In particular, the strength of the labour movement is related to the incidence of accidents at work’. For the record, it is also spelt out below that this represents an unwarranted interpretation of my own position.     

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PRIDE Still Stands Out as Site Tailored to LGBT Clients OptumHealth Uses its Pharmacy Data to Identify, Treat Addicted Patients Benefits of Recovery Checkups Presented at NAATP Casino Expansion in New York Moves Forward Building Recovery Capital in San Diego ‘Enthusiasm and Togetherness’ at NAATP Conference Briefly Noted Names in the News Coming up     

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Two Reports Criticize Drug Courts; NADCP Pushes Back SAMHSA Encourages Providers to Help Military Families Luxury Program Prepares Patients for Post‐Treatment Urine Testing Karen Carpenter‐Palumbo Appointed to Head NAATP Report Highlights Waste in SA Treatment in New York Prisons Briefly Noted In the States Coming up     

Methadone and buprenorphine in prison: Success in RI

The omnipresence of substance use disorder in prisons and jails cries out for treatment — and so do the inmates — but until recently, it has been scarce. Leading the way is the small state of Rhode Island, where Cranston‐based CODAC, an opioid treatment program (OTP), is providing methadone inside the state's jail/prison facility, with staff working alongside corrections (see ADAW, May 7, 2018).     

Effectiveness and feasibility of a 10-minute employee stress intervention: Outdoor Booster Break

There is a growing recognition that workplace environments affect employee health. Nature contact exposures in the workplace have been shown to be healthful for employees. This pilot study was designed to test the feasibility and efficacy of a daily outdoor work break (Outdoor Booster Break) compared to a daily indoor break. A census of university office staff was invited to participate (N?=?244). Phase 1 focused on feasibility—participants (n?=?119) reported that the Outdoor Booster Break was feasible (74%), practical (80%), and worthwhile (83%). During Phase II we used a single-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effects of an Outdoor Booster Break—compared with a control indoor work break group—for 4 weeks on employee stress. Perceived stress was measured at pretest and posttest for both conditions. Mean posttest stress scores were lower for both the control group (n?=?19) and the treatment group (n?=?18). A main effects ANCOVA model controlling for baseline stress revealed posttest stress was lower for the treatment group compared to controls (p?=?.041). Taking a work break appears to have stress-reducing benefits, but the Outdoor Booster Break reduced stress significantly more than an indoor break. Implications for employers, worksite health promoters, and future research are discussed.     

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Douglas' Case Hoped to Bring Methadone Treatment Behind Bars OTP Banks on Effectiveness of Integrated Primary Care NIDA‐NIAAA Merger RFI is Closed; Field Waits for NIH Action SBIRT Coming to Hospitals via Joint Commission NAATP Annual Meeting Focuses on Looming Changes for Field AATOD: OTPs Should Use PMPs But Not Input Data Briefly Noted Coming up