Frequently Asked Questions

Visit our What to Expect page to review information on getting started with a customized addiction treatment plan. You may also call us at 608-807-1428 for our Madison office or 414-928-1401 for our West Allis office to start the admission process.

The simplest way is to contact 608-807-1428 for our Madison office or 414-928-1401 for our West Allis office to start the admission process. This will start the admissions process to our addiction treatment clinic.
 

• Once contact is made for admission with one of our treatment facilities, you will undergo a quick screening process by one of our trained staff. This takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes. After, you will schedule the admission time that works best for you. 
• When you transfer, this is a new admission even though you have been in treatment for substance abuse. Expect to be in the clinic 2 to 3 hours to finish this whole process.  
• You may also arrange “guest dosing to transfer” with your current facility. To do so, contact your counselor at your facility to arrange for guest dosing.  This allows you to receive treatment for up to 13 days consecutively at our facility.  
• If you find that you would like to transfer, then during the 13 days you would complete the admission process. 
• If, at the end of the 13 days, you decide that your previous clinic is a better match for you, then you will return there for continued care with no need for readmission. This allows you to check our Methadone, Vivitrol, and Suboxone clinic out without leaving the one you are currently at.

Addiction is considered a chronic disease, with the risk of relapse. Therefore, the most important thing involved in opioid and opiate treatment is your desire to treat your addiction and gain lifelong sobriety. ASAP will give you the tools and resources to treat and manage your addiction both in the short and long term.  

Treatment is a multidisciplinary approach. This means several specially trained clinicians will be involved in your treatment and, if needed, others can be consulted to help you achieve your goals. ASAP employs AODA (Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse)-trained staff who are passionate to help you along your journey, along with experienced and caring board-certified addictionologists to help you manage the medical aspect.  

Visit our Contact page or call 608-807-1428 for our Madison office or 414-928-1401 for our West Allis office to start the admission process. Same-day appointments are available. To secure one of the same-day appointments, please call as early as possible. Otherwise, call to schedule an appointment as your schedule allows.

Check-in for counseling is easy. Arrive at the front desk 10 minutes before your appointment and staff will notify your personal counselor of your arrival and escort you back for your private session.

Those who have been in treatment for substance use in the past at other facilities and participated in the handheld number system that creates long lines will really appreciate ASAP’s streamlined and efficient check-in process. After you are admitted to one of our facilities, the nursing staff will create a biometric profile for you. Once completed, you will be able to use your finger to quickly scan in at the clinic. This will place you in line to see the nursing staff in one of our private and confidential dosing booths. Once checked in at the kiosk, your identification number will appear in order on the monitor. You may take a seat and comfortably wait for the overhead paging system to let you know which nurse is ready to help you.

Average time from arrival at clinic to dosing is 3 minutes or less. Times are typically shorter than 3 minutes, but if you happen to log in after a high-phased patient (someone who gets take-homes and achieved sobriety), it may take a few more minutes.

Private dosing booths are just that, private. Most facilities have dosing windows open to the lobby where everyone can hear your business and any medical concerns you have. ASAP provides private, insulated dosing booths so that you may have confidential conversations with medical staff to discuss your concerns or needs.

The ENGAGE application for your smartphone is instrumental for an efficient check-in and treatment. When you arrive at ASAP, you may check in from your vehicle into the dosing queue (the digital dosing line shows on the large TVs in each facility).  

Benefits of the ENGAGE App:

• Efficient check-in process (check in from your phone)
• Enhanced safety and convenience (Check in from your car. Please park and be ready to come in. Our nurses are quick.)
• Improved dosing times (under 3 minutes on average)
• Improved quality of treatment (Your time is valuable. ASAP prides itself in getting you the care you need and deserve as efficiently as possible.)

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, patient and staff safety is priority one. For everyone’s safety, we currently limit occupancy to a maximum of 10 patients within the medical clinic. This allows for safe social distancing and quick service. With the app, your phone will show your place in line, and when you are in the top 7, come in for treatment.  

If the system does not allow you to check in, this indicates you are due to provide a urine sample or have some other issue to take care of. The remaining 3 will be filled by those individuals having additional things to address outside of dosing that morning. Come straight into the clinic, and after the issues is addressed we will check you into the queue and get you on your way.  

Improved quality of treatment is also noted with the use of the application as scheduled appointments are shown as well as the ability to interact with your counselor with scheduled appointments.

If you have no other services (counseling) or needs (urine drug screen, UDS) the average time from arrival at clinic to dosing is 3 minutes or less. Times are typically less than 3 minutes, but if you happen to log in after a high-phased patient (someone who gets take homes and achieved sobriety) or someone that requires special attention that day it may take a few more minutes.  

ASAP takes great pride in the low wait times, as your time is as valuable as our own. However, providing the exceptional care patients have come to expect and receive from ASAP is always priority one. ASAP does not rush in the care provided at any of its facilities.

Dosing wait times at other facilities have been reported to be as long as 1 hour in length. ASAP monitors dosing times on a weekly basis, assuring that the average dosing time is under 3 minutes for the day. Depending on the time of day you may find a few additional minute wait (first and last half hour of dosing time, or first thing in the morning as we open and just before we close). Your time is valuable and ASAP understands that if you have no other obligations for treatment that day, that getting in and out is a benefit to starting and enjoying your day.

That’s easy. Arrive at the clinic with a partially full bladder daily. Random drug screens are a staple to any addiction treatment facility. This helps in many ways:

• UDS can provide useful information to the patient, as they may be surprised of other drugs being mixed in with the one drug they were seeking to use. 
• UDS helps validate your move toward sobriety. It confirms maintenance of sobriety and supports earning and maintaining phases (ability with sobriety to get take home medication doses) that are granted through the 8-point criteria and the state guidelines related to this.

Patients may choose to stop treatment at any time. You may discontinue immediately, but we would recommend a directed taper. If you decide to do so, you will meet with one of our board-certified addiction specialist to create a plan for discharge based on your desired timeline. You may meet with one of our physicians to begin an elective taper whenever you desire.

The 8-point criteria have been established by SAMHSA federal regulatory body for MOUD facilities as the means to identify and justify take home privilege’s in patients receiving treatment at a medication-assisted treatment program.  

The 8-point criteria are as follows:

• Absence of recent abuse of drugs (opioid or nonnarcotic), including alcohol
• Regularity of clinic attendance
• Absence of serious behavioral problems at the clinic
• Absence of known recent criminal activity, e.g. drug dealing
• Stability of the patient’s home environment and social relationships
• Length of time in comprehensive maintenance treatment
• Assurance that take-home medication can be safely stored within the patient’s home
• Whether the rehabilitative benefit the patient derived from decreasing the frequency of clinic attendance outweighs the potential risks of diversion

Phasing is the classification by the state using 8-point criteria to allow take-home doses in patients who have gained sobriety with treatment. Phasing is broken down as follows:

• Phase 1: no Sunday take home (new admissions, patients not meeting 8-point criteria)
• Phase 1: with Sunday take home (patients who gain sobriety for 30 consecutive days and maintain it)
• Phase 2: patients achieving criteria for Phase 1 with Sunday for 90 days after getting Phase 1
• Phase 3: patients achieving criteria for Phase 1 with Sunday for 90 days after getting Phase 2
• Phase 4: patients achieving criteria for Phase 1 with Sunday for 90 days after getting Phase 3
• Phase 5: patients achieving criteria for Phase 1 with Sunday for 90 days after getting Phase 4
• Phase 6: patients achieving criteria for Phase 1 with Sunday for 365 days after getting Phase 5

ASAP offers a variety of ways to engage in treatment:

• The old-fashioned way, face to face.  We have designated offices to accomplish this. These offices are outfitted with plexiglass shields, providing a nonobtrusive barrier for client and counselor safety. Social distancing is also present with a minimum of a 6-foot distance between people.  
• Telephone counseling is also available for those with time restraints, so that individual therapy can be accomplished from any private location patients wish to use.
• Video conferencing from your phone, iPad (or equivalent), and computer can be accomplished from any private location patients wish to use.

Madison Clinic

Counseling Times:

Monday – Friday, 5am – 1pm

Later counseling times to 3pm will become available as we expand our hours.

Medication Dosing Times:

Monday – Friday, 5am – 3pm (patients should be checked in by 2:30pm)

Saturday and Sunday, 6am – 9am

West Allis/Milwaukee Clinic:

Counseling Times:

Monday – Friday, 5am – 1pm

Medication Dosing Times:

Monday – Friday, 5am – 11:30am (patients should be checked in by 11:00am)

Saturday and Sunday, 6am – 9am

Kenosha Clinic:

Counseling Times:

Monday – Friday, 5am – 1pm

Medication Dosing Times:

Monday – Friday, 5am – 12:00pm (patients should be checked in by 11:30am)

Saturday and Sunday, 6am – 9:30am

You may contact your counselor by calling the main line of the Madison ASAP Clinic at (608) 807-1428. 

By phone, you may leave a message with the receptionist for a return call. Please be prepared to leave your name, contact number and brief reason for you call. You may also be transferred to the counselor’s voicemail. Again, be ready to clearly leave your name, number, and a brief reason for you call.

In clinic, you may leave a message with staff or the receptionist. If the counselor is in session, they will not be available to answer questions or assist with any issues. As with your counseling sessions, we do not interrupt this time to relay messages.

No matter how you leave a message, you can expect to receive a return call typically within 24 hours.

Addressing patient concerns related to their treatment is a priority for ASAP’s physicians and medical staff. Please contact your counselor first regarding your medical need or concern. You may also leave a message with reception, who will pass this along to counseling. 

Counselors schedule and coordinate all medical follow-up appointments at ASAP. They will address this with Medical and either return a message, direct you to care in the community if warranted, or arrange for follow-up with one of our physicians. If this is an emergency, please contact 911.

Please contact the clinic at (608) 807-1428 and ask for the Client Rights Specialist. If they are not available, please leave a message with your name and contact number on their personal and secure voicemail. ASAP takes patient issues and concerns seriously and will return your call promptly. Morgyn Steinbrecher is the current Client Rights Specialist for ASAP Madison.

Call our direct line at (608) 807-1428. If this is an emergency or you are in a crisis situation, please call 911. By calling our direct line, you will be put in touch with one of our staff that can begin the screening process for admission. This would include insurance coverage if you possess this, prescreen admission, and, if acceptable for this level of care based on state and federal guidelines, scheduling of your admission consult.

No, if you are seeking treatment for opioid or opiate addiction, you already have addiction to this type of drug. Your addiction can not get worse with Methadone or Buprenorphine. These medications are used in treatment because of the propensity to develop tolerance (you don’t get high) very quickly. Thus, they keep you out of withdrawal and allow you to break the cycle throughout the day of feeling high and then going into withdrawal several hours later without continued use of Heroin etc.

Methadone and Buprenorphine are opioids used to treat withdrawal symptoms and allow the brain to recover from addiction when used in an addiction facility. If used inappropriately for extended periods of time outside of addiction treatment, a person can become addicted to them like any other opiate (morphine, heroin) or opioid (Oxycontin, Percocet). However, they are very rarely used on the street as a drug of choice, but rather a drug to prevent withdrawal.  

With prolonged exposure to any opioid or opiate from prescription or illicit use, neuroplasticity (physical changes to your brain at the neuron or cellular level, including pathways) occurs and the brain physically changes, leading to true addiction with both physiological and psychological components. Use of these medications in treatment does not worsen the nature of addiction. It does allow individuals with addiction to engage in treatment, affording time for the brain to recover and for the patient to engage in counseling assuring long term success with sobriety.

 Vivitrol is an opiate antagonist and blocks opiate receptors, thus it is not addictive. It does help with cravings and used to help maintain recovery and sobriety.

Yes, they can, but the medical care at ASAP is provided by a physician who will determine how the medicines can be taken appropriately so that drug interactions are minimized and or eliminated.

Neither Methadone, Buprenorphine, nor Vivitrol will show up positive on a standard drug screen commonly used. There are more specialized drug tests that specifically can detect these medications.

Your admission consultation with a board-certified ASAP addiction physician includes a complete medical history and physical exam, as well as a review on care options. The best medication to assist in a patient’s recovery will be recommended and a collaborative approach with patient and physician will determine which one to begin. Meaning, you decide together.

Absolutely. Data shows that opioid withdrawal in pregnant patients can cause uterine contractions and result in premature labor. This can ultimately lead to miscarriage or premature birth. Because of the risks resulting from opioid withdrawal, opioid-dependent pregnant women are generally recommended to enter a methadone maintenance program. ASAP will prioritize pregnant women’s placement in the admission schedule so that they can enter treatment more quickly and, thereby, decrease risk of harm to the unborn fetus.

No, your baby will not become addicted. There is a huge difference between addiction and dependence. Addiction occurs with chronic use and remolding of the brain. There is no evidence to show that brain changes occur in children born to opioid-using mothers.  

What does occur is dependence. The child will experience withdrawal symptoms with the absence of the opioid, but will not develop addiction to it. Most hospitals are now equipped to handle this form of delivery and keep the child comfortable while the dependence wears off.