Do the new regulations change unsupervised or take-home medication standards?
Yes. The new regulations allow for increased medical and clinical judgment and contain updated requirements to receive unsupervised or take-home medication. The following eight conditions remain unchanged from the previous rule: (1) no recent drug use, (2) attends clinic regularly, (3) no serious behavioral problems, (4) no criminal activity, (5) stable home environment and good social relationships, (6) length of time in treatment (see below), (7) assurance that take-home medication will be safely stored, and (8) judgment that the rehabilitative benefit to the patient will outweigh the risk of diversion (42 CFR Part 8.12.i (2) (i-viii)). Patients that meet the 8 conditions are eligible for the following take home schedule. NOTE: The following schedule is the minimum standard; states and programs can choose to raise the standards, i.e., require longer time periods of stability, provide fewer total take-home doses, etc. For purposes of these FAQs, take-home medication will consist of Au
