Montana News: Final Rule: Drug Addiction Treatment Act

January 1, 2006 4:08 PM Topics: Controlled substances and Prescriptions

Reprinted from the January 2006 Montana Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.

On June 23, 2005, a final rule on the Drug Addiction Treatment Act was published. Pursuant to this rule, qualifying physicians (doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy) may prescribe a Schedule III-V medication for detoxification and maintenance purposes. Currently, buprenorphine is the only qualifying drug used in this manner. When a physician applies for a waiver, the Department of Health and Human Services has 45 days to review the application before sending it to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). DEA then assigns each qualifying physician a certification DEA number in which the alpha character is replaced with an “X” in the physician’s original DEA number. Prescriptions written for buprenorphine for detoxification or maintenance purposes must include both numbers. It is possible for a physician to start treatment of one patient before the 45-day period has expired, provided the physician requested that ability on the original waiver. Pharmacists needing to verify a physician’s status can log onto www.buprenorphine.samhsa.gov and click on “physician locator,” or call 240/276-2716, as some physicians may not yet have been listed. Practitioners and group practices are limited to treating 30 patients at any one time