a. Is Alternatives In Treatment a licensed program?

Alternatives is licensed by the Florida Department of Children & Families to provide:
Residential Level 1 Services- Adult. As such, it is required to provide specific services to its patients, over and above those required of facilities with PHP or IOP licensure. Patients in our Primary Residential are provide with over 30 hours a week of direct clinical services. Programs that do not have that license typically do not provide that number of hours of clinical services.
In addition, Alternatives is licensed to provide both PHP and IOP adult services.

b. What is Accreditation?

Insurance companies use one of two agencies to provide them with the information that enables them to make recommendations to their subscribers when asked for an “in-network provider”. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), International each establish strict criteria for accreditation and conduct in-depth surveys and audits of facilities. Once accredited, a treatment center can apply for “in-network” credentialing with insurance companies. Our ability to have this status with insurance companies is a result of having consistently met the criteria for CARF Accreditation. Alternatives is proud of having consistently met the criteria for accreditation. This process requires it be repeated every three years to ensure these standards of care are maintained. Because of this status, Alternatives is in-network with all major insurance companies and many of the smaller plans. There are very few insurance plans with which we are unable to provide some level of care. Our business office and Utilization Review staff work diligently to provide the assistance needed to access those benefits for our patients.

c. Is accreditation important?

Yes it is. Accreditation is the only objective way to rate the quality of care to be expected at a treatment program. It reflects the program’s standards of practice and adherence to the criteria established by the agency conducting the survey and, in turn, the insurance company that is providing the benefits.

d. What is individualized treatment planning?

Although many of our patients present with many things in common, no one or two treatment plans will address every patient’s needs. The entire treatment team, consisting of the Clinical Director, Medical Director, Primary Therapist, and Nurse play an active role in determining, along with the patient, the specific treatment needs of each patient.