FAQ: New DEA requirement: What all physicians need to know about the 2023 MATE Act
On Dec. 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Section 1263 of the omnibus bill, also known as the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, necessitates ALL DEA-registered practitioners who prescribe schedule II, III, IV or V drugs undergo a one-time, eight-hour training requirement incorporating education on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. 

ISMA has CME available to help you fulfill this requirement, and below are answers to questions frequently asked by practitioners regarding the new requirements.

  WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SATISFYING THIS NEW TRAINING REQUIREMENT?  
   
All DEA-registered practitioners, except for practitioners that are solely veterinarians.

 
   HOW WILL PRACTITIONERS BE ASKED TO REPORT SATISFYING THIS NEW TRAINING REQUIREMENT?   
 
Beginning on June 27, 2023, practitioners will be required to check a box on their online DEA registration form — regardless of whether a registrant is completing their initial registration application or renewing their registration — affirming that they have completed the new training requirement.

   
   WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR SATISFYING THIS NEW TRAINING REQUIREMENT?   
 
The deadline for satisfying this new training requirement is the date of a prescriber’s next scheduled DEA registration submission — regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration — on or after June 27, 2023.

This one-time training requirement affirmation will not be a part of future registration renewals.

  
  HOW CAN PRACTITIONERS SATISFY THIS NEW TRAINING REQUIREMENT?   
   
There are multiple ways that practitioners can satisfy this new training requirement.

FIRST, the following groups of practitioners are deemed to have satisfied this training:

Group 1: All practitioners that are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry from the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Board of Addiction Medicine, or the American Osteopathic Association.

Group 2: All practitioners that graduated in good standing from a medical (allopathic or osteopathic), dental, physician assistant, or advanced practice nursing school within five years of June 27, 2023, and successfully completed a comprehensive curriculum that included at least eight hours of training on:
  • Treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of a substance use disorder; or
  • Safe pharmacological management of dental pain and screening, brief intervention, and referral for appropriate treatment of patients with or at risk of developing opioid and other substance use disorders.
SECOND, practitioners can satisfy this training by engaging in a total of eight hours of training on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders from the groups listed below. A few key points related to this training:
  1. The training does not have to occur in one session. It can be cumulative across multiple sessions that equal eight hours of training.
  2. Past training in treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders can count towards a practitioner meeting this requirement. In other words, if you received relevant training from one of the groups listed below, before this new training obligation was enacted on Dec. 29, 2022, that training counts towards the eight-hour requirement.
  3. Past DATA-Waived training counts towards a DEA registrant’s eight-hour training requirement. ISMA has contacted the DEA to determine if there is any time limit on previous opioid CME fulfilling the MATE Act requirement. Per statements by the DEA, it is unaware of any limitations on when the past training must have occurred. ISMA will alert members and update online resources if additional details emerge.
  4. Training can occur in a variety of formats, including classroom settings, seminars at professional society meetings, or virtual offerings.

 
  DOES THE ISMA OPIOID EDUCATION/TRAININGS MEET THIS NEW REQUIREMENT?    
 
YES!

Per the DEA MATE training letter, the following accredited groups may provide training. ISMA falls into the first category below:
  • Any organization accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) or the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition (CCEPR), whether directly or through an organization accredited by a state medical society that is recognized by the ACCME or CCEPR. ISMA is directly accredited by the ACCME.
  • The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)
  • The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP)
  • American Medical Association (AMA)
  • The American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or any organizations accredited by the AOA to provide continuing medical education
  • The American Dental Association (ADA)
  • The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS)
  • The American Psychiatric Association (APA)
  • The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
  • The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)
  • The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
  • Any other organization approved or accredited by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, the ACCME, or the CCEPR


 
     
How do I access the ISMA opioid education? 

There are two ways that practitioners can satisfy this new training requirement: 

  1. ISMA members can access FREE archived opioid content via the ISMA Online mobile app, where a total of 20 hours are available for on-demand viewing. Not a member? Join ISMA today to receive instant access to the entire CME archive; or
  2. For nonmembers: Attend any of the monthly webinars in the 2023 Live Opioid CME Series at no charge.
 
ISMA’s 2023 Opioid CME Series is currently underway.
Each live, monthly opioid webinar is free to members and nonmembers and counts toward fulfilling the 2.0 hours of CME on opioid prescribing and abuse required to renew a Controlled Substance Registration in Indiana by Oct. 31, 2023. These CMEs can count towards meeting the MATE Act requirements.

The series is supported by a State Opioid Response Grant from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration - Division of Mental Health and Addiction.

ISMA members, you can register for the CMEs here. 

Nonphysician practitioners: APRNs and PAs are able to register for webinars in the FREE Live Opioid CME Series as well. 

Nonmembers: To register, you must first create a user account by going to the ISMA website and taking the following steps:
  • Click or tap “Sign In” in upper right corner of webpage.
  • When prompted for username and password, click or tap on “Create an account”
  • Follow the steps as directed from there for required fields.
Please note:
 Recordings of each webinar will be posted to the ISMA Online mobile app for on-demand viewing. ISMA members automatically receive free access to the entire ISMA Online library of archived content and accredited CME courses.

Nonmember physicians may subscribe to ISMA Online and all archived content at www.ismanet.org/ISMAOnlineSubscription.  
A subscription gives you access to all archived content through December 31, 2023, for $400 – or join ISMA to receive this and other valuable benefits of membership.

LEARN MORE >>

Upcoming webinars in the series
 Registration webinars in the Live Opioid CME Series is now open at www.ismanet.org/events or by following the individual links below.

Date     

Title

Speaker
April
13		 Opioid Use Disorder Treatment: A Primer for PCPs  Christopher Suelzer, MD

May
4

Inpatient Medications for Opioid Use Disorder:
Reducing Harm and Saving Lives

Amy LaHood, MD

May
11

Recreational Drugs of Abuse

Olawale Ojo, MD, MSC

June
8

Opioids and the ED: Become a Prudent Prescriber

Thomas Gutwein, MD

July
13

Evolving Pain Control in the Surgical Patient

Don Selzer, MD

July
20

Substance Use Treatment During Pregnancy

Mary Pell Abernathy, MD, MS, MBA

Aug.
10

When the Past Comes Calling: Legacy Opioid Use, Therapeutic Wean, and Opioid Rotation

Palmer Mackie, MD

Sept.
14

Buprenorphine-Naloxone Use in the ER and Other Acute Care Settings: Common Clinical Scenarios

Krista Brucker, MD

TBD

Racial-Ethnic Disparities in SUD Treatment