Ethical Admission Practices – Yes or No?

Ethical Admission Practices – Our Position

Unethical Admissions Regarding Substance Abuse Treatment

Ethical standards and practices. How can you determine if the treatment center you have called for help is above board and operating morally and ethically. This our position concerning this issue.

There are common similarities that revolve around admissions teams and the placement of those clients in need of their services.  They each have strict, yet specific admission criteria and feel pressure to “fill the beds with bodies” from the upper management. 

Networking, especially in the treatment field is big business, with large budgets to spread the word about each different company, and why they are “the best’. 

Here at A New Outlook Counseling Services, we have made it a goal of ours to visit and open a dialogue with potential referrals, whether they are regional or national treatment programs.

 Less Than Ethical Practices Harm the Suffering

It has come to our attention that there are several ‘less-than-ethical’ practices among some treatment facilities. We are bringing this to your attention in an effort to prevent you from being ‘taken’. We have witnessed the ‘hard-sell’ of just filling beds.  This practice is not approved by us. 

A center in Arizona would only admit a patient if they wrote a $15,000 check – despite the fact that the patient had already fulfilled their insurance company’s annual deductible and was qualified for 100% coverage.  

We were able to find them a more suitable facility in the same city/state without having to “front” any money. 

Another issue arises when intake or admission specialists are unethical in how they are scoring or interpreting the information gathered from the potential client.  A client calls and goes through the interview process, the specialist will cater the answers to fit their program, where they actually do not qualify or their needs would not be met at their facility.

Ethical Programs Ask the Correct Questions 

Quality (ethical) programs stop and ask the correct questions, and when the answer comes from the client that would disqualify them from their program – they refer them to an appropriate facility. 

This is exactly how the process should be followed.  We applaud those in the industry who are upholding the ethical standards of which are paramount to the future of the clients as far as quality of care and medical necessity.

We do not receive any kickbacks from referring clients to these programs. We want to be able to give them an informed decision for the monumental choice they are making.  We have a shortlist of programs to visit in the next year in hopes to ensure the program will be a fit for our potential referral clients. 

We have created a list of resources of programs who we consider to be the best of the best in their particular city or state.  We will keep adding to this list as we visit and make the real-world connection for these top-tier programs before our clients arrive.   

Other Sources: 

1. Florida’s Billion-Dollar Drug Treatment Industry Is Plagued by Overdoses, Fraud – NBC News
2. Reports Of Rehab Scams Raise Concerns About Addiction Treatment Quality – Deborah Becker
3. ‘Body Brokers’ Get Kickbacks To Lure People With Addictions To Bad Rehab
4. How Some Southern California Drug Rehab Centers Exploit Addiction