Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Deserve Trained Providers
Authors: Kevin Fiscella, Leo Beletsky, Sarah E. Wakeman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2020)

Letters2 June 2020Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Deserve Trained ProvidersKevin Fiscella, MD, MPH, Leo Beletsky, JD, MPH, and Sarah E. Wakeman, MDKevin Fiscella, MD, MPHUniversity of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York (K.F.), Leo Beletsky, JD, MPHNortheastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (L.B.), and Sarah E. Wakeman, MDMassachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (S.E.W.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L20-0081 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Weimer and colleagues (1) recommend against removing the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) "X-waiver" requirement for prescribing buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD). However, none of their arguments justifies continuing this failed federal regulation.First, the authors suggest that deregulation will not expand access to buprenorphine treatment for persons with OUD, citing data that some clinicians who obtain waivers do not use them. However, the authors ignore that buprenorphine overregulation has notably deterred prescribing after the waiver has been received because of concerns about U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration audits, the need for practice ...References1. Weimer MB, Tetrault JM, Fiellin DA. Patients with opioid use disorder deserve trained providers. Ann Intern Med. 2019;171:931-932. [PMID: 31766053]. doi:10.7326/M19-2303 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Jones CM, McCance-Katz EF. Characteristics and prescribing practices of clinicians recently waivered to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Addiction. 2019;114:471-482. [PMID: 30194876] doi:10.1111/add.14436 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Sigmon SC. The untapped potential of office-based buprenorphine treatment [Letter]. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72:395-396. [PMID: 25671806] doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.2421 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Tsai AC, Kiang MV, Barnett ML, et al. Stigma as a fundamental hindrance to the United States opioid overdose crisis response. PLoS Med. 2019;16:e1002969. [PMID: 31770387] doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002969 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Fiscella K, Wakeman SE, Beletsky L. Buprenorphine deregulation and mainstreaming treatment for opioid use disorder: X the X waiver. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76:229-230. [PMID: 30586140] doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.3685 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York (K.F.)Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (L.B.)Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (S.E.W.)Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L20-0081. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPatients With Opioid Use Disorder Deserve Trained Providers Melissa B. Weimer , Jeanette M. Tetrault , and David A. Fiellin Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Deserve Trained Providers Richard Saitz Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Deserve Trained Providers Justin Berk , J. Deanna Wilson , James H. Miller , and Leonard Feldman Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Deserve Trained Providers Melissa B. Weimer , Jeanette M. Tetrault , and David A. Fiellin Metrics Cited byEducation as drug policy: A realist synthesis of continuing professional development for opioid agonist therapyIncreasing Short- and Long-Term Buprenorphine Treatment Capacity: Providing Waiver Training for Medical StudentsCommentary on Hill et al .: Breaking down barriers—increasing access to lifesaving opioid use disorder medications to save lives 2 June 2020Volume 172, Issue 11Page: 772-773KeywordsAdverse eventsDisclosureDrug addictionDrug administrationDrugsOpioid addictionOpioid use disorderOpioidsPharmacistsSafety ePublished: 2 June 2020 Issue Published: 2 June 2020 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2020 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...