Abstract

Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs)http://www.kap.samhsa.gov/products/manuals/tips/index.htm are provided by the Knowledge Application Program (KAP) of the Substance Abuse for Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). They are a series of best-practice guidelines for the treatment of substance abuse, and can be explored either by topic or in numerical order. Included in the topics are “Medication Assisted Treatment,” and “Co-Occurring Disorders.” Each TIP opens in a new window as a Health Services/Technology Assessment Text [HSTAT] from the National Library of Medicine. Access to the numerous chapters and appendices in each TIP is menu driven. The dissemination of a TIP is the last step in a process that begins with the recommendation of an Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) abuse problem area for consideration by a panel of experts. A panel of non-Federal clinical researchers, clinicians, program administrators, and patient advocates debates and discusses its particular areas of expertise until it reaches a consensus on best practices. This panel's work is then reviewed and critiqued by field reviewers. The very number of TIPs attests to the ubiquity, complexity, and malevolence of substance abuse in society.