Jan 13, 2023, 09:01 AM by ASRA Pain Medicine

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced Thursday that clinicians will no longer be required to obtain a DATA-Waiver registration (X-Waiver) in order to treat patients with buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. Only a standard DEA registration number is required.

Additionally, 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 change any existing state laws or regulations. In a letter dated January 12, 2023, the DEA stated, "ln this moment, when the United States is suffering tens of thousands of opioid-related drug poisoning deaths every year, the DEA 's top priority is doing everything in our power to save lives. Medication for opioid use disorder helps those who are fighting to overcome opioid use disorder by sustaining recovery and preventing overdoses. At DEA, our goal is simple: we want medication for opioid use disorder to be readily and safely available to anyone in the country who needs it. The elimination of the X-Waiver will increase access to buprenorphine for those in need."

The act also introduces new training requirements, which will go into effect June 21st.