Healthcare Providers

Buprenorphine Waiver Training

Physicians and other healthcare providers can contribute to reducing the toll of opioid overdose through careful prescribing of opioid analgesics and monitoring patient’s response, and through identifying and effectively addressing opioid use disorder and opioid overdose.

Buprenorphine is an opioid medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid dependence and for acute and chronic pain. Treatment with buprenorphine has been proven effective in opioid addiction, decreasing mortality by approximately 50%. Patients treated with buprenorphine show improved social functioning with increased retention in treatment (67% at one year) compared to drug-free treatment (7-25% at one year), reduced criminal activity, lower rates of illicit substance use, and reduced risk of HIV and hepatitis infection.

The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) requires waivers to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. This includes completing eight hours of required training and applying for a physician waiver. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA 2016) required 24 hours of certified training for nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe buprenorphine treatment.

Clinicians are capped at 30 patients the first year and 100 patients each year after, and physicians board-certified in addiction or who meet certain qualifications (24-hour call coverage, use of health information technology, registration with CURES, acceptance of third-party insurance) have an increase to 275 patients. Using buprenorphine for pain relief and not addiction treatment is not included in federal cap requirements.

Click here for more information on Buprenorphine use.