Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can now participate in a training program for the medication-assisted treatment of opioid abuse, thereby allowing them to prescribe buprenorphine, a medication designed to curb opioid addiction.
Previously, only physicians were able to participate in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 24 hours of required training to prescribe buprenorphine. The new training will be made available at no cost to clinicians thanks to funds provided by SAMHSA, along with other associations like the American Medical Association.
"[This] action will provide even more access to medication-assisted treatment," said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto. "Allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe buprenorphine will greatly expand access to quality, evidence-based treatment methods for those most in need of assistance."
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