Section 1262 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (also known as Omnibus bill), removes the federal requirement for practitioners to submit a Notice of Intent (have a waiver) to prescribe medications, like buprenorphine, for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD).
All practitioners who have a current DEA registration that includes Schedule III authority, may now prescribe buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder in their practice if permitted by applicable state law. SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) and DEA are actively working on implementation of a separate provision of the Omnibus bill related to training requirements for DEA registration that becomes effective in June 2023. Prescribers can check back here for updates.
The DEA urges all registrants to be aware that:
- A DATA-Waiver registration is no longer required to treat patients with buprenorphine for opioid use disorder
- Going forward, all prescriptions for buprenorphine only require a standard DEA registration number. The previously used DATA-Waiver registration numbers are no longer needed for any prescription.
- There are no longer any limits or patient caps on the number of patients a prescriber may treat for opioid use disorder with buprenorphine.
- The Act does not impact existing state laws or regulations that may be applicable.
Source of information above:
https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/removal-data-waiver-requirement
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/docs/A-23-0020-Dear-Registrant-Letter-Signed.pdf
