New continuing education required for DEA licensees--IMPORTANT!

The MATE Act goes into effect June 27th 2023. The deadline to comply after that is the date of your next scheduled DEA registration submission or renewal. Here is what is known so far: https://www.accme.org/highlights/learn-more-about-medication-access-and-training-expansion-mate-act  

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently released materials related to the new Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act. The Act requires new or renewing DEA licensees, as of June 27, 2023, to have completed a total of at least eight hours of training on opioid or other substance use disorders, as well as the safe pharmacological management of dental pain.

Federal Agencies Issue Updated Guidance on Mandatory Substance Use Disorder Training for DEA Registrants

As previously reported, last December, Congress passed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. That legislation included the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, which requires all Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registrants (except veterinarians) to complete at least eight hours of training on opioid or other substance use disorders, or to be board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry. The DEA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently released additional information on how practitioners will be required to comply with the new training requirement. 

The DEA released a letter to practitioners that provides important information on how practitioners will be required to submit the affirmation. The one-time, eight-hour training requirement must be affirmed to on the DEA registrant’s next scheduled DEA registration submission — either the initial registration or the renewal — occurring on or after June 27, 2023. Upon completion of the affirmation, the affirmation will not be included in subsequent registration renewals. The DEA also clarified that both new trainings and previously completed trainings — including the DATA 2000 Waiver training — can count toward the practitioner meeting this requirement if those trainings are/were on the treatment and management of patients with opioid and other substance use disorders and are/were accredited by designated organizations, including AANP. Practitioners can also meet the training requirement if they have graduated in good standing within the last five years from an advanced practice nursing school in the United States that included a comprehensive curriculum with at least eight hours on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of a substance use disorder. 

In addition to the DEA letter to practitioners, SAMHSA also issued its recommendations for curricular elements in substance use disorders training. Further information is also available on the SAMHSA guidance webpage.