(a) Accreditation surveys and for cause inspections. (1) Accreditation bodies shall conduct routine accreditation surveys for initial, renewal, and continued accreditation of each OTP at least every 3 years.

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(2) Accreditation bodies must agree to conduct for-cause inspections upon the request of SAMHSA.

(3) Accreditation decisions shall be fully consistent with the policies and procedures submitted as part of the approved accreditation body application.

(b) Response to noncompliant programs. (1) If an accreditation body receives or discovers information that suggests that an OTP is not meeting Federal opioid treatment standards, or if survey of the OTP by the accreditation body otherwise demonstrates one or more deficiencies in the OTP, the accreditation body shall as appropriate either require and monitor corrective action or shall suspend or revoke accreditation of the OTP, as appropriate based on the significance of the deficiencies.

(i) Accreditation bodies shall either not accredit or shall revoke the accreditation of any OTP that substantially fails to meet the Federal opioid treatment standards.

(ii) Accreditation bodies shall notify SAMHSA as soon as possible but in no case longer than 48 hours after becoming aware of any practice or condition in an OTP that may pose a serious risk to public health or safety or patient care.

(iii) If an accreditation body determines that an OTP is substantially meeting the Federal opioid treatment standards, but is not meeting one or more accreditation elements, the accreditation body shall determine the necessary corrective measures to be taken by the OTP, establish a schedule for implementation of such measures, and notify the OTP in writing that it must implement such measures within the specified schedule in order to ensure continued accreditation. The accreditation body shall verify that the necessary steps are taken by the OTP within the schedule specified and that all accreditation elements are being substantially met or will be substantially met.

(2) Nothing in this part shall prevent accreditation bodies from granting accreditation, contingent on promised programmatic or performance changes, to OTPs with less substantial violations. Such accreditation shall not exceed 12 months. OTPs that have been granted such accreditation must have their accreditation revoked if they fail to make changes to receive unconditional accreditation upon resurvey or reinspection.

(c) Recordkeeping. (1) Accreditation bodies shall maintain records of their accreditation activities for at least 5 years from the creation of the record. Such records must contain sufficient detail to support each accreditation decision made by the accreditation body.

(2) Accreditation bodies shall establish procedures to protect confidential information collected or received in their role as accreditation bodies that are consistent with, and that are designed to ensure compliance with, all Federal and State laws, including 42 CFR part 2.

(i) Information collected or received for the purpose of carrying out accreditation body responsibilities shall not be used for any other purpose or disclosed, other than to SAMHSA or its duly designated representatives, unless otherwise required by law or with the consent of the OTP.

(ii) Nonpublic information that SAMHSA shares with the accreditation body concerning an OTP shall not be further disclosed except with the written permission of SAMHSA.

(d) Reporting. (1) Accreditation bodies shall provide to SAMHSA any documents and information requested by SAMHSA within 5 days of receipt of the request.

(2) Accreditation bodies shall make a summary of the results of each accreditation survey available to SAMHSA upon request. Such summaries shall contain sufficient detail to justify the accreditation action taken.

(3) Accreditation bodies shall provide SAMHSA upon request a list of each OTP surveyed and the identity of all individuals involved in the conduct and reporting of survey results.

(4) Accreditation bodies shall submit to SAMHSA the name of each OTP for which the accreditation body accredits conditionally, denies, suspends, or revokes accreditation, and the basis for the action, within 48 hours of the action.

(5) Notwithstanding any reports made to SAMHSA under paragraphs (d)(1) through (d)(4) of this section, each accreditation body shall submit to SAMHSA semiannually, on January 15 and July 15 of each calendar year, a report consisting of a summary of the results of each accreditation survey conducted in the past year. The summary shall contain sufficient detail to justify each accreditation action taken.

(6) All reporting requirements listed in this section shall be provided to SAMHSA at the address specified in § 8.3(b).

(e) Complaint response. Accreditation bodies shall have policies and procedures to respond to complaints from SAMHSA, patients, facility staff, and others, within a reasonable period of time but not more than 5 days of the receipt of the complaint. Accreditation bodies shall also agree to notify SAMHSA within 48 hours of receipt of a complaint and keep SAMHSA informed of all aspects of the response to the complaint.

(f) Modifications of accreditation elements. Accreditation bodies shall obtain SAMHSA’s authorization prior to making any substantive (i.e., noneditorial) change in accreditation elements.

(g) Conflicts of interest. The accreditation body shall maintain and apply policies and procedures that SAMHSA has approved in accordance with § 8.3 to reduce the possibility of actual conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, on the part of individuals who act on behalf of the accreditation body. Individuals who participate in accreditation surveys or otherwise participate in the accreditation decision or an appeal of the accreditation decision, as well as their spouses and minor children, shall not have a financial interest in the OTP that is the subject of the accreditation survey or decision.

(h) Accreditation teams. (1) An accreditation body survey team shall consist of healthcare professionals with expertise in drug abuse treatment and, in particular, opioid treatment. The accreditation body shall consider factors such as the size of the OTP, the anticipated number of problems, and the OTP’s accreditation history, in determining the composition of the team. At a minimum, survey teams shall consist of at least two healthcare professionals whose combined expertise includes:

(i) The dispensing and administration of drugs subject to control under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.);

(ii) Medical issues relating to the dosing and administration of opioid agonist treatment medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder;

(iii) Psychosocial counseling of individuals undergoing opioid treatment; and

(iv) Organizational and administrative issues associated with opioid treatment programs.

(2) Members of the accreditation team must be able to recuse themselves at any time from any survey in which either they or the OTP believes there is an actual conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.

(i) Accreditation fees. Fees charged to OTPs for accreditation shall be reasonable. SAMHSA generally will find fees to be reasonable if the fees are limited to recovering costs to the accreditation body, including overhead incurred. Accreditation body activities that are not related to accreditation functions are not recoverable through fees established for accreditation.

(1) The accreditation body shall make public its fee structure, including those factors, if any, contributing to variations in fees for different OTPs.

(2) At SAMHSA’s request, accreditation bodies shall provide to SAMHSA financial records or other materials, in a manner specified by SAMHSA, to assist in assessing the reasonableness of accreditation body fees.