New DEA Training Requirement Upon New/Renewal of DEA License

US DEA Issues New Guidelines for Medication Access and Training Expansion Act (MATE)

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently issued a letter outlining the training that will 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 at: https://deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/docs/MATE_Training_Letter_Final.pdf

The letter also states that, effective 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 new DEA letter appears to be largely consistent with the recommendations that the American Medical Association (AMA) made to the DEA in a letter earlier this month. As our letter notes, 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. Using the new DEA guidance, the AMA is thoroughly reviewing these materials to determine which ones to include in a dedicated web page that will soon be created to help physicians and other practitioners satisfy the one-time, eight-hour training requirement.