“Does this service require dedicated space within the hospital?”
No, the patients are generally admitted to an open medical surgical unit just like any other patient admitted to the hospital
"Who provides physician coverage for this service?"
In order to deliver a consistent level of care, we work with our partner hospitals to identify primary/backup physician coverage (or a small hospitalist group currently providing services at the hospital) and then offer our service orientation to these doctors with a variety of suggested medical protocols.
"About 1.3 million adults received treatment for AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder) at a specialized facility in 2015 (8.3 percent of adults who needed treatment). This included 898,000 men (8.8 percent of men who needed treatment) and 417,000 women (7.5 percent of women who needed treatment)."
— Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
“Will the hospital be required to obtain special licensure or certification in order to provide this service?"
No. With a few exceptions, most states do not require any such licensure due to the hospital only focusing on the acute withdrawal portion of this disease and not providing counseling and/or rehab services
“Will the hospital need to hire additional/dedicated nurses in order to deliver this service?"
No, we cross utilize existing nurses on the medical surgical unit(s) and provide education and training to associated nurses.
“How is the hospital reimbursed for delivery of Acute Withdrawal Management services?"
The hospital will bill/collect under a combination of general medical surgical per-diems, case rates, or the applicable DRGs.
"Is Acute Withdrawal Management the same as Detoxification?"
No, Acute Withdrawal Management usually last 3 – 5 days and focuses on medically stabilizing the patient vs. Detoxification which is a process we begin but can take up to 2 weeks to fully occur. (“The liver detoxifies, but clinicians manage withdrawal” – ASAM)