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Quality Assurance

quality assurance initiative

Quality Assurance Initiative 

The NAATP Quality Assurance Initiative (QAI) was created in 2018 to establish standards for treatment service delivery, below which no provider should fall, and at which level proficient services will be delivered. The QAI objectives are to:

  • Promote Best Business Practice 
  • Deter Problematic Business Practice 
  • Assist Payers in the Discernment of Services 
  • Inform Law and Policy Makers
  • Educate and Protect the Consumer
  • Train and Educate the Provider

The QAI is the National Association’s response to the need for clear and centralized professional industry guidelines. Absent such guidance, the addiction treatment field is inadequately defined, less effective in service delivery, and susceptible to problematic business practices that have damaged the reputation of the discipline and, most importantly, harmed the consumer.

Read Raising the Floor Article 

Quality Assurance Guidebook

The centerpiece of the QAI is the publication, The Addiction Treatment Provider Quality Assurance Guidebook: A Guide to the Core Competencies for the Delivery of Addiction Treatment Services (The Guidebook). It identifies and provides an implementation strategy for the core competencies of addiction treatment program operation, thereby empowering addiction treatment providers with clear direction for the proficient and ethical delivery of addiction treatment services.

The Guidebook identifies the core competencies of addiction treatment service through the nine categories of:

  • Operations
  • Admissions and Patient Screening
  • Employment, Training, and Credentialing
  • Billing
  • Discharge and Continuing Care
  • Outcomes Measures
  • Community Engagement, Public Relations, and Public Policy 
  • Marketing, Advertising, and Visibility 
  • Ethics 

Within these categories are 32 specific Guidelines, each accompanied by an explanatory Commentary from an industry expert, followed by a list of Resources referenced to aid the provider in understanding and implementing the Guideline.

Read NAATP Quality Assurance Guidebook

Guidebook Feedback Form

NAATP Presents Addiction Treatment Guidelines to Congress

As Congress continues its bipartisan efforts to address the nation's addiction crisis, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers has delivered to all members of Congress its recently released The Addiction Treatment Provider Quality Assurance Guidebook: A Guide to the Core Competencies for the Delivery of Addiction Treatment Services (The Guidebook).

NAATP encourages Congress to be informed by the Guidelines as it pursues legislation and regulation for all treatment providers. 

Read the NAATP Memorandum to Congress

View the NAATP Code of Ethics