Find information on opioid prescribing, naloxone co-prescribing, and provider training and continuing education resources below.
Section 1262 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 removed the federal requirement for practitioners to have a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). This gave practitioners with a current DEA registration the ability to prescribe buprenorphine for OUD in their practice (if permitted by applicable state law) and SAMHSA encourages them to do so.
Included in this legislation is the MATE Act, the Medication Access and Training Expansion, which requires new or renewing DEA registrants to attest to completing eight hours of training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. The training is a one-time requirement, does not have to be completed in one session, and practitioners are allowed to use past trainings from relevant educational sources.
Numerous institutions have made getting this training relatively easy. There is a plethora of free, high-quality sources of education that can be used toward this training. Because the MATE Act does not specify particular requirements for the subject of the training, only that it be focused on substance use disorders, the practitioner has a great degree of leeway in the training that they choose. SAMHSA has put together a huge collection of trainings, the vast majority of which are free, on their website under the “Practitioner Training Page."
SAMHSA Funded or Developed Training Resources
The ATTC Network is a multidisciplinary resource for professionals in the field of addiction treatment and recovery that provides a wide range of in-depth, high-quality training and education both online and in-person.
Medications for Alcohol Use Disorders (PCSS-MAUD) – Free training, guidance, and mentoring to multidisciplinary healthcare practitioners on the prevention, diagnoses, and treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD).
Medications for Opioid Use Disorders (PCSS-MOUD) – Provides free training, guidance, and mentoring to multidisciplinary healthcare practitioners on the prevention, diagnoses, and treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). This training meets the DEA requirements for eight-hour training to obtain a new or renew a DEA registration.
The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) is a national resource center providing information, expert consultation, training and technical assistance to child welfare, dependency court and substance abuse treatment professionals to improve the safety, permanency, well-being and recovery outcomes for children, parents and families.
As the nation’s medical research agency, the NIH offers multiple training opportunities for practitioners in the fields of mental health and substance use disorders:
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Project ECHO Idaho has a wide array of virtual resources including podcasts, live webinars, question and answer sessions, expert consultation, and recorded video presentations from experts in the field of addiction medicine.
Additional Resources
For more information on The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, view SAMHSA’s DEA webinar.
For more information specifically on the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act and training requirements, view SAMHSA’s webinar.
For additional information on training requirements, the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) put together the free podcast: “Navigating the New DEA 8-hour Training Requirement for SUDSs.”