💊 Addiction Medicine / MAT Clinic · Washington
Washington: medical director and delegated services for an addiction medicine or MAT clinic
Whether Washington requires a physician medical director for an addiction medicine or MAT clinic, the qualifications, duties, and what the state says about the staff who deliver protocol-driven services.
Qualifications
Physician licensed to practice medicine in Washington (per 42 C.F.R. § 8.12's definition, incorporated by reference into WAC 246-341-1000).
Duties the rule assigns
- Assumes responsibility for all medical and behavioral health services performed by the opioid treatment program, including their administration (42 C.F.R. § 8.12)
- Ensures the program's compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws/rules
- Ensures documented review of prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data at admission, annually, and after incidents (WAC 246-341-1000)
- Develops withdrawal management schedules for admitted individuals and for administratively discharged patients (WAC 246-341-1000)
- Determines dispensing of unsupervised-use ('take-home') medication beyond the default federal threshold (42 C.F.R. § 8.12(i))
Notes
This is a federal OTP-certification requirement (42 C.F.R. Part 8) that WAC 246-341-1000 incorporates by reference for Washington-certified opioid treatment programs (methadone/buprenorphine clinics) — not a WA-specific statute, but it is the operative legal requirement for any WA MAT clinic operating as a certified OTP. WA's prior OTP-specific medical-director rule (former WAC 246-341-1010) was repealed effective Jan. 31, 2025 in favor of this direct federal incorporation.
Sources (2)
Every clinician in Washington · Addiction Medicine / MAT Clinic in other states