A Marketing-Claim Checklist for Comparing Drug Rehab in California

Use a notebook, spreadsheet, or phone document with six fields: exact claim, where you saw or heard it, date observed, source requested, answer received, and status. Your status choices should remain fixed: confirmed, needs review, or not established. If an answer is vague, conditional, undated, or about another location, keep the claim in needs review.

Treat confirmed as a high bar. A licensing claim may be supported by the relevant government record. An accreditation claim requires the accrediting organization's name, the covered entity or location, and a way to verify current status. A staffing statement should identify the role being discussed, when that person is present, and whether the answer applies to the service under consideration. A verbal assurance without those details may still be useful, but it is not the same as independent verification.

• Copy each important claim word for word instead of paraphrasing it.
• Record whether the source is a public agency, accreditor, insurer, facility representative, advertisement, or review.
• Ask whether the answer applies to this location, this service, and the date you may arrive or begin care after admission review has occurred, if applicable to the facility and your

For staffing claims, separate job titles from availability. Ask which roles are employed or contracted, which roles interact with participants, and whether the stated coverage applies every day, only at certain times, or by arrangement. Do not infer credentials from clothing, website photographs, or general phrases such as clinical team. Ask how a credential can be checked through the appropriate licensing source.

For amenities, request a written list that applies to the specific location and ask whether access is included, restricted, shared, scheduled, or subject to change. Photographs can be outdated or show another property. Questions about bedrooms, food, outdoor areas, communication access, or personal-item rules should produce direct answers, not an assumption based on words such as comfortable or premium. No particular amenity is established for Living Longer Recovery by the locked public facts in this article.

• Who accredits the facility, what entity or address is covered, and when does the status expire or renew?
• Which staffing roles are present, when are they available, and what credentials can be independently verified?
• Does each advertised amenity exist at this address, and are there access limits, added charges, or current outages?

For every outcome number, ask for the outcome definition, measured population, time period, sample size, follow-up interval, missing-data method, and organization that collected or reviewed the data. Ask whether people who left early were included. A rate based only on respondents or program completion may answer a narrower question than the advertisement suggests. If the supporting method cannot be provided, mark the claim not established rather than arguing about it.

SAMHSA quality guidance supports asking about evidence-supported care, medications when clinically appropriate, family involvement, and continuing-care planning. These are questions, not proof that every feature is appropriate or available. NIDA treatment principles likewise emphasize that needs differ and that a plan should address the individual, not only substance use. Ask how a provider assesses individual needs, reviews progress, coordinates other health concerns, and plans for what follows the current service. Do not assume a named approach, medication, family service, or continuing-care arrangement exists until confirmed.

• What exactly counts as success, and at what point is it measured?
• How many people were eligible, how many were reached, and how were missing responses handled?
• Was the method independently reviewed, and can I receive the methodology in writing?