Required Pain Management and Substance Use CME Coursework Due Beginning June 27
All physicians and other prescribers need to complete CME coursework on pain management and treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.
The first requirement is a NYS requirement for all prescribers with a DEA license to take a 3-hour CME pain management course every three years. The second requirement is new, and this is a one-time federal requirement for all prescribers with a DEA license to take 8 hours of training on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. On June 27, 2023, physicians and other prescribers obtaining a new Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration or renewing their current registration will be required to attest to federal Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act requirements.
In conjunction with the NYS Office of Addiction Support and Services (OASAS), MSSNY offers all physicians a pain management course that comports with the NY state eight topic requirements. This 3-hour course is a NYS requirement every three years for all prescribers with a DEA license. NY prescribers are again required to take this course as 2023 begins another new three-year cycle. This course is free to MSSNY members and is available online at MSSNY CME.
Prescribers will need to establish an account on this site to take the course if they do not already have an account. Prescribers also must certify to the state that this course has been taken by July 1. The course work is three separate one-hour programs under Pain Management, Palliative Care & Addiction. Physicians who set up an account will be provided with a page-specific account based on their name; certificates will be available based on the name provided and will give the date and the course title.
The MSSNY course will fulfill NYS requirements and can be used toward fulfilling, in part, the new one-time DEA 8-hour requirement. This one-time requirement is a new federal requirement this year and is in addition to the NYS requirement.
MSSNY also has another online course entitled Substance Use Disorders in Veterans, which would also qualify under the federal DEA requirements. This course is free to all prescribers, and it is also available at the MSSNY CME site. MSSNY has 4 hours of CME that can be applied to the DEA requirements.
The DEA letter has given broad discretion to prescribers about how to obtain the 8 hours of CME — it requires that the programs be “on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.” The American Medical Association (AMA) has worked to identify the educational resources that will satisfy the MATE Act. Please visit the AMA EdHub™ for courses that satisfy the MATE Act. The DEA letter can be viewed here.
Please contact Pat Clancy for any further information.
