Expanding Access to Buprenorphine
Effective December 29, 2022 the DATA 2000 waiver is no longer required to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD). The fiscal year 2023 omnibus, signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022, removes the federal requirement to obtain a waiver prior to prescribing buprenorphine for OUD. Only a DEA number is needed. All practitioners who have a current DEA registration that includes Schedule III authority, may now prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. Click here for more information.
Naloxone Medication Data
In the Maryland 2022 Legislative Session, Chapter 224 "Public Health – Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) – Naloxone Medication Data" passed. What this means is that dispensers who currently report CDS dispenses to the PDMP will also begin reporting naloxone dispenses to the PDMP. The bill gave the start date of October 1, 2022; however, the regulations to guide this change were promulgated in May 2023. The PDMP Advisory Board has given dispensers an implementation period to operationalize the new naloxone reporting requirement until July 20, 2023. If a prescriber writes a prescription for naloxone and does not have a DEA number, then the dispenser should provide the prescriber's NPI number. As a reminder, these naloxone dispenses will not be viewable in the PDMP; the data will be used in aggregate for public health surveillance and planning. Here is the updated RxGov PDMP Data Submitter Guide.
Educational Notifications for Providers
In January 2022, the PDMP will begin the process of transitioning to electronic notifications. Information on the different types of educational notifications sent to providers can be found here. The notifications, also referred to as Unsolicited Reporting Notifications or URNs, are provided for educational and practice improvement purposes with the goal of supporting clinical decision-making and reducing the risk of adverse outcomes for patients receiving CDS prescriptions. Currently these notifications are sent by mail based on the providers address submitted to the DEA.
