Clinical Editorial Review
Reviewed · April 2026Our editorial team evaluates every guide against ASAM Criteria, SAMHSA TIPs, CDC surveillance data, and peer-reviewed research. We publish the sources we used.
200+
Sources cited
21,500+
Verified facilities
Quarterly
Editorial review cycle
Primary sources referenced
Each guide is checked against these frameworks before publication
Methodology
Every article on this site moves through a 5-stage editorial process before publication. We document the process because, in a field where misinformation is widespread, the authority of a guide is the sum of the sources it rests on.
Staff editor writes the initial draft using a working outline derived from primary-source literature — SAMHSA TIPs, NIDA Research Reports, peer-reviewed journals, state regulatory filings.
Every factual claim cross-checked against a primary source. Claims without a verifiable primary citation are either softened ("many programs report…") or removed.
Treatment descriptions aligned with ASAM Criteria for levels of care, SAMHSA TIPs for specific interventions, DSM-5-TR for diagnostic terminology. Disagreements among clinical bodies are presented, not resolved.
Published under our institutional byline. No invented expert personas. When a named clinician contributes, their real credentials and a verifiable bio appear.
Guides covering regulatory or insurance topics reviewed at least annually. Every page displays its last-reviewed date. Material corrections are logged with a visible notice.
Clinical Framework
Where the field has consensus, we follow it. Where it does not, we say so.
Six-dimension assessment framework used by licensed addiction programs to match patients to the right level of care — from outpatient (Level 1) through medically managed intensive inpatient (Level 4).
Source: asam.org
Consensus clinical guidelines from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. TIP 63 (Medications for Opioid Use Disorder) and TIP 45 (Detoxification) are particularly load-bearing for our coverage.
Source: samhsa.gov
The diagnostic criteria our Self-Assessment tool is built on — 11 criteria graded across four clusters, severity tiered as mild / moderate / severe.
Source: psychiatry.org
National Institute on Drug Abuse synthesis of evidence on treatment effectiveness, relapse rates, and emerging interventions. Refreshed as new research is published.
Source: nida.nih.gov
Reader response
I work in benefits for a mid-sized hospital. I expected another marketing-dressed directory. Instead I found the sharpest summary of the 2024 parity rule I've seen outside the Federal Register — and the disclosure about helpline routing is more transparent than most peer sites. This is the page I now forward to HR colleagues.
Editorial Library
The ASAM Criteria 4th edition updated the six-dimension framework used to match addiction patients to appropriate levels of care. This is what shifted and how it changes clinical practice.
Your insurer's medical-necessity criteria determine what addiction treatment they will authorize. Under the 2024 federal parity rule, those criteria must now be disclosed. Here is how to read them.
Directory
21,568+ licensed facilities sourced from the SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator. Refreshed quarterly.
Insurance
Deductibles, network adequacy, appeal paths, and specific MAT formulary notes — reviewed against the 2024 federal parity rule.
Editorial FAQ
Authority-first means being explicit about methodology. These are the process questions we get from clinicians, benefits administrators, and careful readers.
Facility data comes from SAMHSA’s National Directory and state licensing boards. Statistics are cross-referenced against CDC WONDER, NIDA, and peer-reviewed research. Every medical claim is checked against primary sources before publication. Corrections are processed within 48 hours.
