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 
(k), the Attorney General shall register’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub-
section (l); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k)(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 accredited continuing prescriber education that 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines 
meets the requirements under paragraph (3), unless the 
covered practitioner meets the conditions described in 
paragraph (6). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:47 May 28, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2734.IH
H2734
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(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 responsible prescribing of pain medications, 
alternatives to prescribing controlled substances and 
other alternative therapies to decrease the use of 
opioids; 
‘‘(B) 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; and 
‘‘(C) best practices for substance use disorder 
treatment, including methods for diagnosing, treat-
ing, and managing a substance use disorder, includ-
ing the use of medications approved by the Food 
and Drug Administration and evidence-based non-
pharmacological therapies, and linking patients to 
evidence-based treatment for substance use dis-
orders. 
‘‘(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— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:47 May 28, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2734.IH
H2734
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(B) online; and 
‘‘(C) free of charge. 
‘‘(5) The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall establish, maintain, and periodically update a pub-
licly available database providing information relating to 
training modules that meet the requirements under para-
graph (3). 
‘‘(6) A covered practitioner shall be deemed as com-
pleting the training described in paragraph (2) if the cov-
ered practitioner completes accredited continuing pre-
scriber education, that— 
‘‘(A) is required, as a condition of State prac-
tice licensure, to fulfill mandated training or edu-
cation related to best practices in pain management 
and substance use disorder treatment, that is sub-
stantially similar to the requirements described in 
paragraph (3); or 
‘‘(B) is required, as a condition of maintaining 
a board certification recognized by the appropriate 
board certification organizations for the covered pre-
scriber to fulfill mandated training or education re-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:47 May 28, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2734.IH
H2734
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
lated to best practices in pain management and sub-
stance use disorder treatment, that is substantially 
similar to the requirement described in paragraph 
(3). 
‘‘(7) Not later than 5 years after the date of enact-
ment of the Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances 
Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
evaluate, and make publicly available a report describing, 
how exposure to the training required under this sub-
section has changed prescribing patterns of controlled sub-
stances.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:47 May 28, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2734.IH
H2734
pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS