Federal (DEA) Recordkeeping Requirements for Buprenorphine Treatment

Physicians who are conducting office-based buprenorphine treatment should adhere to specific DEA medical recordkeeping requirements. Note that some of these requirements go beyond the standard Schedule III requirements.

Buprenorphine treatment records should include a log identifying patients (by name or ID number), name of drug prescribed or dispensed, strength/quantity of medication prescribed, and date of issuance. One way to comply with this requirement is by keeping a photocopy of the prescription within each patient's record. These records should be kept for at least 2 years.

Practitioners can decide if they want to keep these records within standard patient charts or if they want to keep separate buprenorphine treatment records. When the physician keeps separate records then only these records would be subject to review during a DEA audit. The DEA does recommend keeping buprenorphine records separate, but it is not required.

State requirements should also be reviewed as they may be more stringent.