Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. a physician licensed to practice in New
Mexico is designated to serve as medical director and to have authority over
all medical aspects of opioid treatment;
B. the medical director is responsible for
ensuring that the OTP is in compliance with all applicable federal, state and
local laws and regulations;
C. the
OTP shall be open for patients every day of the week except for federal and
state holidays, and Sundays, and be closed only as allowed in advance in
writing by CSAT and the state methadone authority;
D. written policies and procedures are
developed, implemented, complied with and maintained at the OTP and include:
(1) procedures to prevent a patient from
receiving opioid dependency treatment from more than one agency or physician
concurrently;
(2) procedures to
meet the unique needs of diverse populations, such as pregnant women, children,
individuals with communicable diseases, (e.g. hepatitis C, tuberculosis, HIV or
AIDS), or individuals involved in the criminal justice system;
(3) procedures for conducting a physical
examination, assessment and laboratory tests;
(4) procedures for establishing substance
abuse counselor caseloads, based on the intensity and duration of counseling
required by each patient;
(5)
criteria for when the patient's blood serum levels should be tested and
procedures for having the test performed;
(6) procedures for performing laboratory
tests, such as urine drug screens or toxicological tests, including procedures
for collecting specimens for testing;
(7) procedures for addressing and managing a
patient's concurrent use of alcohol or other drugs;
(8) procedures for providing take home
medication to patients;
(9)
procedures for conducting opioid treatment withdrawal;
(10) procedures for conducting an
administrative withdrawal;
(11)
procedures for voluntary discharge, including a requirement that a patient
discharged voluntarily be provided or offered follow-up services, such as
counseling or a referral for medical treatment;
(12) procedures for making temporary or
permanent transfer of a patient from the OTP to another OTP;
(13) procedures for receiving the temporary
or permanent transfer of a patient from another OTP to the OTP;
(14) procedures to minimize the following
adverse events:
(a) a patient's loss of
ability to function;
(b) a
medication error;
(c) harm to a
patient's family member or another individual resulting from ingesting a
patient's medication;
(d) sales of
illegal drugs on the premises;
(e)
diversion of a patient's medication;
(f) harassment or abuse of a patient by a
staff member or another patient; and
(g) violence on the premises;
(15) procedures to respond to an
adverse event, including:
(a) a requirement
that the program sponsor immediately investigate the adverse event and the
surrounding circumstances;
(b) a
requirement that the program sponsor develop and implement a plan of action to
prevent a similar adverse event from occurring in the future; monitor the
action taken; and take additional action, as necessary, to prevent a similar
adverse event;
(c) a requirement
that action taken under the plan of action be documented; and
(d) a requirement that the documentation be
maintained at the agency for at least two years after the date of the adverse
event;
(16) procedures
for infection control;
(17)
criteria for determining the amount and frequency of counseling that is
provided to a patient; procedures to ensure that the facility's physical
appearance is clean and orderly;
(18) a process for resolution of patient
complaints, including a provision that complaints which cannot be resolved
through the clinic's process may be referred by either party to the HCA:
(a) the complaint process shall be explained
to the patient at admission;
(b)
the patient complaint process shall be posted prominently in its waiting area
or other location where it will be easily seen by patients, and include the HCA
contact information for use in the event that the complaint cannot be resolved
through the clinic's process.
E. a written quality assurance plan is
developed and implemented;
F. all
information and instructions for the patient are provided in the patient's
primary language, and, when provided in writing, are clear and easily
understandable by the patient.
