On Friday, March 24th, 2023, the Unites States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released requirements for training for Medication Assistant Treatment as part of the MATE Act, which was part of the Omnibus Bill at the end of December 2022. The DEA was given 90 days to interpret the legislation and notify prescribers. The requirement will take effect June 27th, 2023, and apply to all new or renewing registrations.
The letter from the DEA, notes the following important clarifications:
- The training is 8 hours, and can be performed in segments.
- The training is required only once. It is not required with every renewal.
- Any prior training for a DEA-X waiver satisfies this new requirement.
- Two imprtant exemptions exist:
- All practitioners board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry from the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Board of Addiction Medicine, or the American Osteopathic Association.
- All prescribers that graduated from a medical (allopathic or osteopathic), dental, physical assistant, or advanced practice nursing school within five years of June 27, 2023, and successfully completed a comprehensive curriculum that included at least eight hours of training on the topics below:
- Treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of a substance use disorder; or
- Safe pharmacological management of dental pain and screening, brief intervention, and referral for appropriate treatment of patients with or at risk of developing opioid and other substance use disorders
- Completing the requirement involves checking a box on the DEA website initial application or renewal, attesting to your completion of the training.
In addition, this week brought a separate announcement from the FDA, approving the sale of naloxone 4mg nasal spray, over the counter, without a prescription. Both of these measures, from the DEA and the FDA, are meant to improve access to treatment of opioid use disorder and reduce opioid overdose deaths in the US.
For further reading:
- DEA X-Waiver, Ended
- Responsible and Safe Use of Opioids in Children and Adolescents in the Emergency Department (Pain Management CME, Controlled Substances CME, Pharmacology CME, and Addiction Disorders CME)
- Procedural Sedation and Analgesia in the Emergency Department (Pharmacology CME)
- Ultrasound-Guided Pediatric Nerve Blocks in the Emergency Department: An Evidence-Based Update (Pain Management CME and Pharmacology CME)
- Acute Traumatic Wounds: Evaluation, Cleansing, and Repair in the ED – Trauma EXTRA Supplement (Trauma CME and Pharmacology CME)
- Optimizing Emergency Management to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in Pediatric Burn Patients (Trauma CME)
- Emergency Department Pain Management: Beyond Opioids
- Pediatric Pain Management in the Emergency Department
