CT News Junkie | New England Governors Write Congress And Urge Action on Bill To Curb Opioid Addiction

CT News Junkie | New England Governors Write Congress And Urge Action on Bill To Curb Opioid Addiction



What is a qualifying physician -

Find information on how to qualify for a physician waiver to prescribe or dispense buprenorphine under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000).

Under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000), qualified physicians may apply for waivers to treat opioid dependency with approved buprenorphine products in any settings in which they are qualified to practice, including an office, community hospital, health department, or correctional facility. A “qualifying physician” is specifically defined in DATA 2000 as one who is:

• Licensed under state law (excluding physician assistants or nurse practitioners)
• Registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to dispense controlled substances
• Required to treat no more than 30 patients at a time within the first year
• Qualified by training and/or certification

Also, in order to maintain a waiver, a physician must be capable of referring patients to counseling and other services.

To qualify for a waiver, a licensed physician (M.D. or D.O.) must meet any one or more of the following criteria and provide supporting documentation for all that apply:

• Hold a subspecialty board certification in addiction psychiatry from the American Board of Medical Specialties
• Hold an addiction certification from the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)
• Hold a subspecialty board certification in addiction medicine from the American Osteopathic Association
• Have completed required training for the treatment and management of patients with opioid use disorders. This involves not less than eight hours of training through classroom situations, seminars at professional society meetings, electronic communications, or training otherwise provided by ASAM and other organizations. Learn more about the required buprenorphine training for physicians.
• Have participated as an investigator in one or more clinical trials leading to the approval of a narcotic medication in Schedule III, IV, or V for maintenance or detoxification treatment. The physician’s participation should be confirmed in a statement by the sponsor of the approved medication to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Find drug scheduling definitions from the DEA for scheduled medications.
• Have other training or experience that the state medical licensing board (of the state in which the physician will provide maintenance or detoxification treatment) considers a demonstration of the physician’s ability to treat and manage patients with opioid dependency.
• Have completed other training or experience that HHS considers a demonstration of the physician’s ability to treat and manage patients with an opioid dependency. The criteria of HHS for this training or experience will be established by regulation.

Once SAMHSA verifies that the background of a physician is correct and valid, DEA assigns the qualified physician a special identification number. DEA regulations require this identification number and the physician’s regular DEA registration number on all buprenorphine prescriptions for opioid dependence treatment. Under DATA 2000, individual physicians may have a maximum of 30 patients in opioid dependence treatment at a time for the first year. One year after the initial notification is submitted, the physician may submit a second notification of the need and intent to treat up to 100 patients.

Prescribing buprenorphine alone will not stop the addict or change his/her thought pattern.  Without proper training as a mental health provider, this - quick fix could become disastrous for the state of New England States. I'm sure the need has never been greater - based what statistics or what population of folk are in the statistics is my question.  The letter to Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Pelosi states, "...up to 100 patients per year", the max is 30 patients in the first year and that is for qualifying physicians.  Do physicians have the time to participate in additional training for a population of folk that may have Medicaid, Medicare or no insurance at all?  I mention that because it's not secret that some practices will only see (X) amount of Title 19 recipients and they only see these patients in order to maintain some other privilege.  Why not put the funds into the existing Rehabilitation sites in and around CT.  Put in place a central location where folks who are really serious about their recovery can seek treatment perhaps on a border state.

Do individuals and families have time to wait for physicians to become qualified to meet the demand?