Level of Care During Addiction Treatment

Level of Care I:  Outpatient Treatment

Addiction or mental health treatment personnel provide professionally directed evaluation, treatment, and recovery service.  Such services are provided in regularly scheduled sessions and follow a defined set of policies and procedures or medical protocols. Services must address significant lifestyle, attitudinal, and behavioral issues that can undermine treatment goals or inhibit the individual’s ability to cope with major life tasks without the non-medical use of alcohol or other drugs.

Outpatient treatment requires patients to attend regularly scheduled meetings.  This level of treatment allows patients to carry on with their routine while receiving face-to-face services with addiction or mental health professionals. It is ideal for people who have jobs or a robust support system at home, which typically costs less than other levels of treatment. 

Level I care includes evaluation, treatment, and recovery follow-up services. It addresses the severity of the individual’s addiction, helps implement behavioral changes, and facilitates mental functioning. Patients may transition to the first level of treatment from a more robust program.  It is also a stepping stone for people who are not ready or willing to commit to a complete recovery program.

Level of Care II:  Intensive Outpatient (IOP)/Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)

Level II is an organized outpatient service that delivers treatment services during the day, before or after work or school, in the evening, or on weekends.  For appropriately selected patients, such programs provide essential education and treatment components while allowing patients to apply their newly acquired skills within “real world” environments.  In addition, programs can arrange for medical and psychiatric consultation, psychopharmacological consultation, medication management, and 24-hour crisis services.

Level II programs can provide comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments and individualized treatment plans, including formulation of problem statements, treatment goals, and measurable objectives—all developed in consultation with the patient. In addition, such programs typically have active affiliations with other Levels of Care, and their staff can help patients access support services such as child care, vocational training, and transportation.

The second level of treatment can accommodate medical and psychiatric consultation, psychopharmacological consultation, medication management, and 24-hour crisis services. 

Florida’s DCF licenses the We Level Up Treatment Center at Lake Worth for substance use treatment programs offering IOP and OP via telehealth therapy (services and treatments may vary).

We Level Up provides outside PHP programs for our clients where they receive individual therapy and case management. We Level Up’s telehealth outpatient programming can include individual or group therapy. Learn more by clicking the button below:

Level III:  Residential/Inpatient Treatment

Level III encompasses organized services staffed by designated addiction treatment and mental health personnel who provide a planned care regimen in a 24‑hour live‑in setting.  Such services adhere to defined sets of policies and procedures.  Mutual and self-help group meetings generally are available on-site.

The defining characteristic of all Level III programs is that they serve individuals who need safe and stable living environments to develop their recovery skills.  Level III may house such living environments in the same facility where treatment services are provided or in a separate facility affiliated with the treatment provider.

In line with this, Level III of the continuum of care provides residential substance abuse treatment.  This level of treatment is typically appropriate for patients who have functional deficits or require a stable living space to help with their recovery.

The patients may live on-site or in a living facility close to the drug and alcohol treatment center, so nearby services are readily available.

Level III Encompasses Four Types Of Programs

Level IV:  Medically Managed Intensive Inpatient Treatment

These programs provide care to patients whose mental and substance-related problems are so severe. They require primary biomedical, psychiatric, and nursing care.  Treatment is provided 24 hours a day, and the complete resources of a general acute care hospital or psychiatric hospital are available.  The treatment is specific to mental and substance-related disorders; however, the skills of the interdisciplinary team and the availability of support services allow the conjoint treatment of any co-occurring biomedical conditions that need to be addressed.

The highest overall level of treatment, ASAM Level 4, includes 24-hour treatment and high-level medical and clinical monitoring.  Among these Level 4 services are medical detox and medication-assisted treatment. This service level is similar to the care a patient would receive at an acute care medical or psychiatric hospital.  The facility will have many of the same available resources as those institutions. 

Importance Of Levels Of Care

The Levels of Care are labeled fairly straightforwardly — the higher the level, the more acute and “hospital-like” the treatment can be.  A patient may be at various stages of addiction treatment and have changing needs.

In a continuum of care model, patients may not necessarily have a linear progression in their treatment course.  For example, a patient who initially met the criteria for Level 1 treatment may have stopped using a drug but has a severe mental health condition (necessitating Level 3 care) or be inactive withdrawal (necessitating Level 4 care).  Similarly, a patient may step down from Level 4 to Level 1 outpatient treatment.

The ASAM levels of treatment allow We Level Up to understand which services you’ll require and helps you know what you can expect for a given level of service. 

How Does The Continuum Of Care Work?

When evaluating substance use treatment centers, you’ll come across all of these Levels of Care. The ASAM criteria are also helpful for commercial insurance providers and other stakeholders.

In theory, here is how the continuum of care works.  First, someone with an opioid use disorder needs medically managed detox—the highest level of care. After completing detox, a specialist may transition to a step-down level of care, such as inpatient treatment.  After completing inpatient treatment, the client may continue with therapy in an outpatient setting. If the client relapses or requires further treatment, they may transition to a step-up level of care. In this case, they may return to inpatient treatment.

At We Level Up Treatment Center, we provide world-class care with round-the-clock medical professionals available to help you cope.  All working as a team providing to provide you with the optimum level of care throughout your treatment.  Make this your opportunity to reclaim your life. Call today to speak with one of our treatment specialists.  Our specialists know what you are going through and will answer any of your questions.

Your call is private and confidential and there is never any obligation.