New Training Requirement for Initial or Renewed DEA Registrations - Details and Frequently Asked Questions

The Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act that was passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2023 (P.L. 117-328) in 2022 requires all DEA-registered providers to complete this training.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a letter providing guidance on satisfying new educational requirements promulgated under the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act passed late last year. This letter responds to many of the outstanding questions and concerns of the physician community, which were gathered and voiced in an AMA letter to DEA on March 13. This legislation also eliminated the so-called “X-Waiver” which required practitioners to submit a Notice of Intent to prescribe medications, like buprenorphine, for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Instead, the legislation created a requirement for all DEA-licensed practitioners mandating eight hours of training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. This is a one-time requirement that must be satisfied before any regularly scheduled initial and renewal registration that occurs on or after June 27, 2023. The requirement will not be necessary for any subsequent renewal registrations.

The DEA guidance letter outlines how this one-time eight-hour training requirement can be met, including listing groups of practitioners who are considered to have already satisfied the new training requirement (e.g., physicians who are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry and certain recent medical school graduates). Additionally, DEA clarified that this training does not need to occur in one session but rather can be completed through multiple sessions of varying formats. Additionally, the guidance states that past training on treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders will count toward this requirement so long as those treatments meet other requirements as mentioned below. As Massachusetts requires 3 hours of opioid and pain management CME every two years for those who prescribe controlled substances, many physicians may already be close to fulfilling these DEA requirements.

Who is responsible for satisfying this new training requirement?

• All DEA-registered practitioners, except practitioners that are solely veterinarians.

How will practitioners be asked to report satisfying this new training requirement?

• Beginning on June 27, 2023, practitioners will be required to check a box on their online DEA registration form—regardless of whether a registrant is completing their initial registration application or renewing their registration—affirming that they have completed the new training requirement.

What is the deadline for satisfying this new training requirement?

• The deadline for satisfying this new training requirement is the date of a practitioner’s next scheduled DEA registration submission — regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration — on or after June 27, 2023.
• This one-time training requirement affirmation will not be a part of future registration renewals.

How can practitioners satisfy this new training requirement?

There are multiple ways that practitioners can satisfy this new training requirement.

• First, the following groups of practitioners are deemed to have satisfied this training:
  • Group 1: All practitioners that are 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.
  • Group 2: All practitioners that graduated in good standing from a medical (allopathic or osteopathic), dental, physician assistant, or advanced practice nursing school in the United States within five years of June 27, 2023, and successfully completed a comprehensive curriculum that included at least eight hours of training on:
    1. 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
    2. 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.
• Second, practitioners can satisfy this training by engaging in a total of eight hours of training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders from the groups listed below. A few key points related to this training:
  1. The training does not have to occur in one session. It can be cumulative across multiple sessions that equal eight hours of training.
  2. Past training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders can count towards a practitioner meeting this requirement. In other words, if you received relevant training from one of the groups listed below — before the enactment of this new training obligation on December 29, 2022 — that training counts towards the eight-hour requirement.
  3. Past DATA-Waived training counts towards a DEA registrant’s 8-hour training requirement.
  4. Training can occur in a variety of formats, including classroom settings, seminars at professional society meetings, or virtual offerings.

What accredited groups may provide training that meet this new requirement?

• The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)
• The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP)
• American Medical Association (AMA)
• The American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or any organizations accredited by the AOA to provide continuing medical education
• The American Dental Association (ADA)
• The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS)
• The American Psychiatric Association (APA)
• The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
• The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)
• The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
• Any other organization accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (AACCME) or the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition (CCEPR), whether directly or through an organization accredited by a State medical society that is recognized by the ACCME or CCEPR
• Any other organization approved or accredited by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, the ACCME, or the CCEPR

The Medical Society hosts the following course that will satisfy the DEA training requirements:

• NEJM Knowledge+ Pain Management and Opioids, a free, online 10-hour course meets the MATE Act training requirement and provides practitioners with confidence that they are following guidelines when treating patients. The course can be completed in intervals that work with your schedule.