ASAM Criteria Cheat Sheet

A Reference Guide for Rehab Call Center Staff

Achieving recovery isn’t a sprint – it’s a marathon that requires a disciplined, individually unique effort to overcome the personal hurdles that are blocking those from sobriety. The thing is – each hurdle is different for each client – so how do we know how to cater to each one and prepare them for their personal journey?

The ASAM criteria, assembled by members of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, have a significant influence on how we identify what clients need in order to be successful. This particular criteria serves as a guideline for addiction treatment specialists to decide the best course of action in terms of levels of care and therapeutic modalities.

In this article, we’ll give you the rundown of the ASAM criteria cheat sheet – a valuable resource that can help you optimize and better gauge what level of care to select for incoming clients. This will ultimately help you make better decisions regarding individualized treatment plans, setting your clients up for more success in the end.

Keep reading to get the details and valuable working resources, and turn to Ads Up Marketing for the latest guides to help your treatment center perform its very best!

Your Duty as a Treatment Provider

Understanding the framework regarding what type of treatment to place clients in is one of the most important bits of information one can acquire. Luckily, the ASAM criteria act as a valuable outline to essentially make the decision for you.

Of course, nothing is foolproof, but using the criteria – combined with your expertise, allows you to address the unique situation of every client that contacts you.

Let’s dive into the specifics of the ASAM criteria cheat sheet so you understand the foundation of this set of parameters.

Laying the Frame for ASAM Criteria Cheat Sheet

After mastering the process of deploying the ASAM criteria cheat sheet, you’ll discover that this simple outline will quickly become the most powerful tool to accommodate incoming clients. Currently, no more accurate set of rules exists to help with the placement of those looking for recovery.

The ASAM criteria exist in six dimensions – each a unique area that describes the severity of the level of addiction and detox status on an individual basis. The process is simple and straightforward and only requires the client to answer a series of questions – all of which can take place over the phone – avoiding taking up time during the in-person admissions process.

Let’s begin with the first dimension of the ASAM criteria cheat sheet.

The Six Dimensions of ASAM Criteria

This ASAM criteria cheat sheet truly offers a holistic solution to verifying benefits and diagnoses during the admissions process. Each dimension encompasses a different area of the client’s requirements and current mental and physical state.

Gauging these items and guidelines accurately is crucial for clinicians to provide clients with the most efficient care, and simplifying the personalization of treatment plans for your treatment specialists.

ASAM Criteria Cheat Sheet: 2021 to 2023

The first issue one must deal with during an active substance abuse disorder is normally the potential for withdrawal. This is the first order of business for the ASAM criteria cheat sheet. In addition, your healthcare specialists must also address the potential for any intoxication at the time of admission.

The first dimension focuses on both of these areas, providing vital information on the current physical condition and the odds and potential severity of experiencing withdrawal.

Dimension 1: Acute Intoxication and Withdrawal Potential

The first dimension requires a thorough inquiry into the client’s recent pattern of substance abuse. This is when your specialists must remain mindful of any signs of inebriation.

The red flags are fairly simple, as you’re looking for behaviors like impaired cognitive skills, slurred speech, red eyes, dilated pupils, the client nodding out, and any general indicator of negative cognitive conditions.

Likewise, your providers must go to the other extreme, probing for signs of withdrawal so you can move forward with the proper form of addiction medicine.

What are the Signs and Symptoms?

Dimension 1 calls for a thorough examination of a client’s recent substance use, looking for signs of acute intoxication. This may include behaviors such as slurred speech, impaired coordination, or altered consciousness.

On the other end of the spectrum, assessing withdrawal potential involves recognizing symptoms like sweating, tremors, and anxiety when a client’s substance of choice begins to wear off.

Ensuring Client Safety

Looking for things like client intoxication, the possibility of severe withdrawal, or even the potential for overdose, are all things you must look for as part of Dimension 1.

It’s your job as the treatment provider to call on immediate medical assistance in the event any of the aforementioned events take place. This could include immediate admission into your detox ward, or in more extreme cases, a trip to the hospital.

ASAM Criteria Cheat Sheet Dimension 2: Biomedical Conditions and Complications

Dimension 2 focuses more on the physical health of the client – but in the short term. With this in mind, you’re looking for complications that are directly linked to the client’s alcohol or drug abuse.

You must identify these items, note them, and discuss potential behavioral health treatment options with the client.

Recognizing Biomedical Conditions Driven by Substance Use Disorders

It would be best if you were equipped and have your staff trained to identify certain signs and symptoms that indicate the presence of drug-abuse-induced disorders and chronic health conditions.

The list of possibilities includes, but certainly isn’t limited to the following:

• Liver damage: A healthy liver is of vital importance – but unfortunately, this is one of the first areas to fail after long-term abuse. You’re looking for signs like stomach pain, jaundice, and unsatisfactory liver function tests.
• Cardiovascular issues: High blood pressure, chest pain, and other issues with heart rhythm could all be potential signs of an underlying cardiovascular issue. The faster you identify these, the faster the client can receive the proper treatment.
• Respiratory issues: Exhibiting signs like nasty smoker’s cough, shortness of breath, or any chronic cough in general, could all be signs of some type of respiratory ailment.

Bloodborne Disease: Risky behavior can lead to the potential of contracting things like HIV and hepatitis. All active users should be aware of how quickly these diseases are spread.

Dimension 3: Emotional, Behavioral, or Cognitive Conditions and Complications

Addiction rarely occurs as a standalone issue. Typically we find that it’s coupled with some type of emotional or behavioral challenge, making the situation far more complicated than others.

Co-occurring conditions require dual diagnosis treatment, which must be indicated during the admissions process.

Identifying Co-occurring Disorders

Dimension 3 helps your staff develop the ability to recognize behaviors and other patterns associated with mental health disorders, including bipolar, depression, and other underlying issues.

Even disorders like anorexia can accompany substance abuse. Staff can easily pick these symptoms out and decide on the best course of action.

ASAM Criteria Cheat Sheet Dimension 4: Readiness to Change

Find out if the client is ready to change. This is an important factor in any recovery journey. Are they prepared mentally and physically? What is their specific motivation? Getting answers to these questions is important for crafting the right treatment plan.

• Gauging Readiness

Motivational interviewing can help during this process. Find out whether the client is in the consideration phase, the guilt phase, or if they’re ready to pull the trigger and jump into recovery.

• Tailoring Interventions

Approaching a client entering recovery is a slippery slope. Based on their motivation, staff can gain a clearer picture of how to continue with the treatment process. Some clients need a more direct approach, while others may require more compassion and a delicate interaction.

Dimension 5: Relapse, Continued Use, or Continued Problem Potential

The risk of relapse is a part of recovery. Dimension 5 helps to identify the chances of a client’s relapse. This requires understanding triggers and other personal elements that may lead to a return to substance abuse.

• Risk Assessment

This Dimension requires a watchful eye and a treatment provider who is excellent at listening and paying attention to the client. Learning what causes stress and changes in mood is the only way to get a better understanding of what drives them to use.

• Backup Plan

After you learn what makes them tick, you can learn what it takes to stop a client from relapse. Working on potential action plans that might include specialized forms of therapy or creating a larger support system is usually the best way to approach the situation.

ASAM Criteria Cheat Sheet Dimension 6: Recovery and Living Environment

A client’s living arrangements can have a profound impact on the late stages of recovery or treatment. This Dimension specializes in learning the environmental factors that could stop the client from remaining successful after treatment.

• Assessing the Living Environment

Your staff must be able to pinpoint dynamics within the client’s living arrangement that could pose hiccups as time goes on. This includes being around others who engage in continued use, triggers, and mentally abusive relationships. Recognizing these things and doing what’s required to steer the client away from this environment is essential for success.

• Ensuring a Supportive Environment

Because entering the client’s home is not a feasible solution, the best thing your staff can do is provide them with resources outside of your facility that can better prepare them to navigate hazardous living environments.

Housing assistance vouchers, alumni program offerings, referrals to halfway houses, and family therapist locations are all powerful tools for this challenge. Dimension 6 underscores the importance of ensuring a safe and supportive living environment for clients’ existing treatment.

Get Support to Ensure the Readiness of Your Call Center

At Ads Up Marketing, we can help with the items behind the scenes just as much as the bells and whistles of marketing. Ensuring your team is ready for client interaction and maintains regulatory compliance and patient laws is just as critical, if not more, than deploying an ad campaign. We’ll help make the six dimensions more familiar – simplifying this comprehensive set of rules.

With a solid understanding of our ASAM care cheat sheet, you can best match potential clients to the right ASAM level of care, as well as ensure proper reimbursement and adherence to ASAM dimensions in record keeping.

Contact us today and we can help you audit your process and help train your team to best utilize the ASAM criteria and determine eligibility for each incoming caller effectively!