DEA Eliminates X-Waiver for Buprenorphine Treatment

January 30, 2023
Julie Kozminski

Pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced the elimination of the DATA-Waiver Program in a Jan. 12, 2023, letter to registered prescribers.

Also known as the X-Waiver, the DATA-Waiver program required practitioners who wanted to prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) to register with the DEA and receive specialized training.

The DEA no longer will require additional registration to prescribe buprenorphine, only a standard DEA registration number, and has eliminated caps on the number of patients a prescriber may treat for OUD.

Along with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, the DEA is working on new training requirements that take effect June 21, and will provide further guidance.

Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.

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