Qualifying Criteria

To be considered a qualifying physician, the practitioner must be a licensed physician AND meet at least 1 of the following criteria:

Hold a subspecialty board certification in addiction psychiatry from the American Board of Medical Specialties
Hold an addiction certification from the American Society of Addiction Medicine
Hold a subspecialty board certification in addiction medicine from the American Osteopathic Association
Participate as an investigator in at least 1 clinical trial leading to the approval of a Schedule III, IV, or V narcotic drug used for detoxification or maintenance treatment
Possess sufficient training or experience as determined by the medical licensing board of the physician's state
Possess sufficient training or experience in the treatment of opioid-dependent patients as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services

Note that DATA's definition of qualifying physician does not include physician assistants, pharmacists, or nurse practitioners, although these providers may participate in all other aspects of patient care.

Additional Requirements

In addition to being a qualifying physician, a practitioner must meet 2 other requirements to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid dependence:

Resources

Practitioners must be capable of referring patients to supportive services. As a step toward achieving this, physicians should familiarize themselves with local addiction professionals, agencies, and other resources.

Number of Patients

A key legislative change in December 2006, known as the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (ONDCPRA), increased the patient treatment limit for DATA-certified physicians. Under the new law, physicians who obtain their waiver can treat up to 30 patients simultaneously with buprenorphine (including both detoxification and maintenance) during their first year prescribing, but then may treat up to 100 patients simultaneously in each subsequent year. However, physicians who do wish to treat more than 30 patients after their first year must submit a second notification form to the DEA.

For physicians in group practices, each qualified physician may treat no more than 30 patients simultaneously during the first year and 100 in subsequent years, if they apply for the second notification. For instance, a group practice with 4 qualified physicians could treat 120 total patients (30 patients per physician) during the first year that the physicians are certified, and a total of 400 in each year thereafter.