The Drug Enforcement Administration last week published an interim final rule expanding access to medication-assisted treatment under the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018.

Effective Oct. 30, the rule allows certain practitioners to treat more patients; permanently adds nurse practitioners and physician assistants to the definition of “qualifying other practitioner”; and permits practitioners to complete required opioid training in medical school or residency as well as post-residency.

DEA will accept comments on the rule through Jan. 4.

DEA also will accept comments through Jan. 4 on a proposed rule implementing requirements to report suspicious orders of controlled substances under the Preventing Drug Diversion Act of 2018. The rule would offer multiple options for reporting suspicious orders; establish a centralized database for reporting; define key terms; and require specific record-keeping practices.

Related News Articles

Headline
Rebecca Chickey, AHA’s senior director of behavioral health, talks with Dr. Arpan Waghray, CEO of Providence Well-Being Trust, and Elisa Arespacochaga, AHA’s…
Headline
The shortage of behavioral health care professionals is a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas. In rural Iowa, some care providers have…
Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights should finalize its proposed “commonsense” amendments to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to support…
Chairperson's File
On this episode, I talk with Jesse Tamplen, vice president of behavioral health services at John Muir Health, located east of San Francisco, and a member of…
Perspective
After three years of caring on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers are confronting a landscape deeply altered by its effects,…
Headline
“As a practicing geriatric psychiatrist for more than 15 years, I’ve seen firsthand the mental and physical toll that anxiety, depression and other mental…