CHICAGO — The American Medical Association (AMA) today announced the launch of a new resource on the AMA Ed Hub™ to help physicians and other practitioners complete the new, one-time eight-hour training requirement issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. The page will serve as a one-stop shop to make the process as easy as possible for DEA-registered physicians and practitioners to earn required Continuing Medical Education (CME).

“This is an important resource for physicians and medical practitioners to further their education and continue AMA’s mission of ending the nation’s drug overdose epidemic,” said Bobby Mukkamala, M.D., chair of the AMA Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force. “Since the AMA first convened the Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force in 2014, physicians have dramatically increased and enhanced our education around pain and substance use disorders. The epidemic of drug overdoses and deaths evolves daily, so it is important the medical community continue learning and adapting to meet the needs of patients struggling with opioid use disorder. We don’t endorse (PDF) the requirement but we’re positioned to help remove friction with a great solution.”

By completing this CME early, starting on June 27, 2023, physicians will be able to simply check a box on their DEA registration application or renewal form indicating that they have satisfied this training requirement. The free courses offered on the AMA Ed Hub page can be taken in any combination to fulfill the eight-hour requirement. The training does not have to occur in one session. Past trainings on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders can count towards this requirement.

The deadline for satisfying this new training requirement is the date of a practitioner’s next scheduled DEA registration submission—regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration—on or after June 27, 2023.

The trainings on the newly launched AMA resource page meet the requirements of the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act that was passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which is available here (PDF).

The courses feature education from the AMA and other trusted sources including the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

The AMA Ed Hub has multiple offerings on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, which are included in our Opioid Therapy and Pain Management CME course.