Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) To be eligible
for admission to a treatment program, an individual must meet the current
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria for
substance use disorders (or substance withdrawal or intoxication in the case of
a detoxification program). The facility shall use a screening process
appropriate for the target population, individual's age, developmental level,
culture, and gender, which includes the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI)
criteria to determine eligibility for admission or referral including an
assessment of the client's financial resources and insurance
benefits.
(b) The screening process
shall collect other information as necessary to determine the type of services
that are required to meet the individual's needs. This may necessitate the
administration of all or part of validated assessment instruments.
(c) TDI criteria shall guide referral and
treatment recommendations as well as placement decisions.
(d) Sufficient documentation shall be
maintained in the client record to support the diagnosis and justify the
referral or placement decision. Documentation shall include the date of the
screening and the signature and credentials of the Qualified Credentialed
Counselor (QCC) supervising the screening process.
(e) For admission to a detoxification
program, the screening will be conducted by a physician, the physician's
designee, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, or
licensed vocational nurse (LVN). An LVN may conduct a screening under the
following conditions:
(1) the LVN has
completed detoxification training and demonstrated competency in the
detoxification process;
(2) the
training and competency verification is documented in the LVN's personnel
file;
(3) the LVN shall convey in
person or via telephone the medical data obtained during the screening process
to a physician or the physician's designee, who shall determine the
appropriateness of the admission and authorize the admission or give
instructions for an alternative course of action; and
(4) the physician or the physician's designee
shall examine the client in person and sign the admission order within 24 hours
of authorizing admission.
(f) For admission to all other treatment
programs, the screening will be conducted by a counselor or counselor
intern.
(g) A detoxification
program shall not offer screenings through electronic means.
(h) A treatment program, other than a
detoxification program, may offer screenings in-person and face-to-face, or
through electronic means, as that term is defined by §
448.911(a)(1) of
this chapter (relating to Treatment Services Provided by Electronic Means). A
facility offering screenings through electronic means shall comply with the
applicable requirements under §
448.911 of this chapter and the
following requirements.
(1) Prior to screening
an individual through electronic means:
(A) a
counselor intern, licensed professional counselor assistant (LPC-A), or
licensed master social worker (LMSW) must have more than 2,000 hours of
supervised work experience or have a supervised work experience waiver under
§
140.408(b) of
this title (relating to Requirements for LCDC Licensure); and
(B) if the provider is a counselor intern,
the intern must have passed the chemical dependency counselor licensing
exam.
(2) A counselor or
counselor intern screening an individual through electronic means shall use
synchronous audiovisual technology, as that term is defined by §
448.911(a)(4) of
this chapter, except as provided under paragraph (3) of this
subsection.
(3) To the extent
allowed by federal law and only when all the following criteria are met, the
counselor or counselor intern may screen an individual using synchronous
audio-only technology, as that term is defined by §
448.911(a)(3) of
this chapter, when:
(A) the screening occurs
during a declared state of disaster under Texas Government Code §
418.014 (relating to
Declaration of State of Disaster) in the county in which the facility where the
client signed the client's consent for treatment form is located;
(B) the counselor or counselor intern
determines and documents a justification for their determination in the
individual's record that screening the individual using synchronous audio-only
technology is safe and clinically appropriate for the individual being screened
and the reason why the counselor or counselor intern did not use synchronous
audiovisual technology to screen the individual; and
(C) the individual being screened agrees and
provides verbal consent, as that term is defined by §
448.911(a)(5) of
this chapter, to participate in a screening using synchronous audio-only
technology.
(4) The
counselor or counselor intern shall conduct an in-person and face-to-face
screening with an individual at the individual's request or if the individual
does not provide their verbal consent to participate in a screening through
electronic means as required by §
448.911(u) of
this chapter.
