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What is said about assessment in Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management.

"This document updates and replaces Drug Misuse and Dependence – Guidelines on Clinical Management (UK health departments 1999) – hereafter referred to as the 1999 Clinical Guidelines. It has the same status across the UK as the 1999 Clinical Guidelines.

The 2007 Clinical Guidelines provide guidance on the treatment of drug misuse in the UK. They are based on current evidence and professional consensus on how to provide drug treatment for the majority of patients, in most instances. The 2007 Clinical Guidelines do not provide rigid protocols on how clinicians must provide drug treatment for all drug misusers. Neither does this guidance override the individual responsibility of clinicians to make appropriate decisions in the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient (and guardians and carers if appropriate)."