Treatment programs have increasingly focused on quality assurance (QA) and improvement techniques as means to maintaining or improving the quality of care, while addressing the problems caused by rapidly escalating service costs.
Because QA has often been mandated for reimbursement and licensure, this TIP assumes that treatment programs have an active QA program.
The following, therefore, are suggestions for important areas for monitoring in programs that provide treatment for drug-exposed infants.
These suggested areas alone should not be considered a complete QA program.
As noted in the previous protocols, the importance of linkage and collaboration is paramount for programs addressing treatment of drug-exposed infants.
Entry into treatment can come from a variety of programs in the service continuum, requiring referral to other providers to ensure successful treatment.
Therefore, several linkage areas are important for QA monitoring:
- Documentation of referrals, sharing of information, and ensuring that linkages are made;
- Compliance with Federal and State guidelines for confidentiality; and
- Interagency agreements that clearly indicate responsibilities of each program.
The new Substance Abuse Block Grant regulations include many requirements regarding linkages, quality assurance, interagency agreements, and monitoring of these activities. Thus, AOD treatment programs receiving these funds will be greatly assisted by adhering to the quality assurance guidelines discussed in this section.
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