The department shall adopt regulations for the admission of persons into the treatment program, considering available treatment resources and facilities, for the purpose of early and effective treatment of alcoholics, intoxicated persons, drug abusers, and inhalant abusers. In adopting the regulations the department shall be guided by the following standards: (1) if possible a patient must be treated on a voluntary rather than an involuntary basis; (2) a patient must be initially assigned or transferred to outpatient or intermediate treatment, unless the patient is found to require inpatient treatment; (3) a person may not be denied treatment solely because the person has withdrawn from treatment against medical advice on a prior occasion or because the person has relapsed after earlier treatment; (4) an individualized treatment plan must be prepared and maintained on a current basis for each patient; (5) provision must be made for a continuum of coordinated treatment services, so that a person who leaves a facility or a form of treatment will use other appropriate treatment and facilities.
Alaska Legal Code