New DEA Training Requirement: What Healthcare Providers Must Know
This blog post summarizes about a new education requirement for DEA registration.
Who needs to take the training?
All providers who have a DEA registration and prescribe medications, excluding veterinarians, are required to take an 8-hour, one-time training on opioid misuse and abuse. This requirement applies to:
Physicians
Nurse practitioners
Physician assistants
Recent medical school graduates (DO or MD) who were required to take a similar course as part of their graduation requirements
Who is exempt from the training?
There are three groups of providers who are exempt from the training:
Board-certified addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry providers: Because their board certification already covers the required information.
Providers who took a similar course in medical school: If your medical school graduation required you to take a course on opioid misuse and abuse, you can fulfill this requirement by providing documentation of that course completion.
Providers with a DEA X-waiver for buprenorphine prescribing: The training required to obtain this waiver already covers the information required by the new DEA rule.
How to complete the training:
There are many free, 8-hour training courses available online. The American Medical Association (AMA) website is a good resource to find these courses. Completing the training will also earn you CME credits, which are required for most healthcare professionals to maintain their licenses.
Key points to remember:
The new DEA training requirement is a one-time requirement, not required every time you renew your DEA registration.
The deadline to complete the training is before your next DEA registration renewal.
There are free training courses available online.
The AMA website has information about the training requirement and courses that qualify.
I hope this blog post was helpful! Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.