I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3889 
To require certain practitioners authorized to prescribe controlled substances 
to complete continuing education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2015 
Ms. CLARKE of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require certain practitioners authorized to prescribe 
controlled substances to complete continuing education. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safer Prescribing of 
Controlled Substances Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 
CERTAIN 
PRACTITIONERS 
PRESCRIBING 
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES. 
Section 303 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
U.S.C. 823) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (f), in the matter preceding 
paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Attorney General 
shall register’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection 
(i), the Attorney General shall register’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘covered practi-
tioner’ means a practitioner that is not a hospital, phar-
macy, or veterinarian. 
‘‘(2) As a condition of granting or renewing the reg-
istration of a covered practitioner under this part to dis-
pense, or conduct research with, controlled substances in 
schedule II, III, IV, or V, the Attorney General shall re-
quire the covered practitioner to complete training 
(through classroom situations, seminars at professional 
society meetings, electronic communications, or otherwise) 
that the Secretary of Health and Human Services deter-
mines meets the requirements under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(3) The training provided for purposes of paragraph 
(2) shall, at a minimum, expose covered practitioners to— 
‘‘(A) best practices for pain management, in-
cluding alternatives to prescribing controlled sub-
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stances and other alternative therapies to decrease 
the use of opioids; 
‘‘(B) responsible prescribing of pain medica-
tions, as described in Federal prescriber guidelines 
for nonmalignant pain; 
‘‘(C) methods for diagnosing, treating, and 
managing a substance use disorder, including the 
use of medications approved by the Food and Drug 
Administration 
and 
evidence-based 
nonpharma-
cological therapies; 
‘‘(D) linking patients to evidence-based treat-
ment for substance use disorders; and 
‘‘(E) tools to manage adherence and diversion 
of controlled substances, including prescription drug 
monitoring programs, drug screening, informed con-
sent, overdose education, and the use of opioid over-
dose antagonists. 
‘‘(4) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Serv-
ices Administration shall establish or support the estab-
lishment of not less than 1 training module that meets 
the requirements under paragraph (3) that is provided— 
‘‘(A) to any covered practitioner registered or 
applying for a registration under this part to dis-
pense, or conduct research with, controlled sub-
stances in schedule II, III, IV, or V; 
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