Practice Alert: DEA Training Requirement

Effective June 27, 2023, the US Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will require a new one-time eight (8) hour training requirement for all DEA-registered practitioners (including our NPs) on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.

As part of the initial registration or renewal process, practitioners will be required to check a box on their online DEA registration form affirming that they have completed the new training requirement.  For practitioners who are renewing their DEA certification, the deadline to satisfy this new training is the date of when your certificate expires.

There are multiple ways to satisfy this new training requirement:

Pathway A

If you 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 – practitioners will have been deemed to automatically satisfy this training.

Pathway B

If you graduated in good standing from a medical, dental, physician assistant, or advanced practice nursing school in the US within five (5) years of June 27, 2023 and successfully completed a comprehensive curriculum that included at least eight (8) hours of training on treating and managing patients with opioids or other substance use disorders, or 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—practitioners will have been deemed to automatically satisfy this training.

Pathway C

Practitioners can satisfy this training by engaging in a total of eight (8) hours of training on treatment and management of patients with opioids or other substance use disorders.

Key Points

• The training does not have to occur in one session.  It can be cumulative across multiple sessions that equal eight (8) hours.
• Past trainings on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders can count towards meeting this requirement.
• Training can occur in a variety of formats, including classroom settings, seminars at professional society meeting, or virtual offerings.
• Please know that any course and/or conference expense(s) to satisfy this requirement will be the practitioner's own personal responsibility.  This, however, does not preclude anyone from arranging with your School’s Department/Division and/or employer to have fees covered. It is also important to emphasize that each practitioner will be self-attesting on your DEA registration form that you have completed the training.  Practitioners may be subject to random audits by the US Department of Justice and/or DEA and it is advisable that you keep documentation of all your training.

DOWNLOAD

• Practice Alert: New DEA Requirement (.pdf)