The California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) recently praised Gov. Jerry Brown for signing addiction medicine into law with Assembly Bill 848 this past October.
The new law will allow physicians and other licensed medical professionals to provide essential medical care to clients who are undergoing detoxification in Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) licensed residential treatment facilities. By opening the door to such services, California greatly improves the safety of such facilities. Moreover, the chances of the clients of these residential treatment facilities to find a sustainable path of long-term recovery is improved by lessening the severity of their initial detox.
“Patients will now have a better chance for successful recovery. Until now, an obsolete provision in state law prevented the California Department of Health Care Services from licensing residential treatment programs—that provide detoxification for addiction to alcohol and other drugs—from providing medical services to patients,” said Dr. Christy Waters, chair of the California Society of Addiction Medicine’s Public Policy Committee.
From a medical or public-cost perspective, the lack of such medical services being provided at residential treatment facilities made no sense. For the past 10 years, CSAM has been actively working in Sacramento to have the regulations changed. With the passage of the new legislation, DHCS licensed facilities are now able to provide medical care to those who suffer from addiction. This change means the treatment of clients can now be managed inside the program. Whereas transportation to a doctor’s office, clinic, or urgent care used to take additional staff time and resources and required vulnerable clients to leave the safety of a treatment environment, such an unnecessary risk and waste of resources is no longer required.
Under the bill, clients will get a medical screening prior to treatment. If medications are needed for a clinical detox, these medications can be provided. In their update about the passage of this new law, CSAM celebrated the change. With medical treatment now available, DHCS licensed residential treatment facility can take the next step forward in providing safe services for detox and beyond.