January 2025 Electronic Mailbags
January 2, 2025
January 9, 2025
2025 Tri-Regulator Symposium and Opioid Regulatory Collaborative Summit
NABP is pleased to invite its members to the 2025 Tri-Regulator Symposium and the 2025 Opioid Regulatory Collaborative (ORC) Summit, taking place March 6-7, 2025, at the Tysons Corner Marriott in Tysons, VA.
March 6, 2025
The Tri-Regulator Symposium, hosted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), NABP, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with your counterparts of medical and nursing regulatory boards. This sixth Tri-Regulator Symposium offers one day of presentations and open forums on topics of high importance to the future of US health care. While each of the three organizations is autonomous with their own membership and goals, all share common values and a deep commitment to public health protection. Recognizing this, FSMB, NABP, and NCSBN formed the Tri-Regulator Collaborative to advance dialogue and build consensus on issues of state-based licensure and regulation. This day will provide the opportunity to discuss interprofessional cooperation and the challenges facing state medical, nursing, and pharmacy boards.
March 7, 2025
The second ORC Summit will be held following the Symposium. Launched in 2021 by FSMB, NABP, NCSBN, and the American Association of Dental Boards, the ORC partnership is aimed at addressing the nation’s opioid epidemic by uniting the key health care professions that prescribe and dispense prescription medications.
Space at the Tri-Regulator Symposium and Opioid Regulatory Collaborative Summit is limited, and registration is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline to register is February 5, 2025. There is no cost to register for the symposium or summit.
Lodging and airfare are the responsibility of attendees, and a special contracted room rate of $239 per night (plus applicable taxes/fees) is available at the Tysons Corner Marriott. If you are interested in attending the Tri-Regulator Symposium and/or the ORC Summit, please contact NABP Executive Meeting Planner Jess Ruhl via email at jruhl@nabp.pharmacy for meeting registration and hotel information.
We look forward to your participation!
DEA Mid-Level Practitioner Pharmacist Registration
On December 13, 2024, NABP’s monthly executive officer call included a discussion with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) representatives, Tom Prevoznik, deputy assistant administrator of the Diversion Control Division, and Matthew Strait, deputy assistant administrator of the Office of Diversion Control Regulatory, regarding the issuance of DEA controlled substance (CS) registrations to mid-level practitioner pharmacists authorized by their state to prescribe CS.
Noting that federal CS registration is required for mid-level practitioner pharmacists to prescribe, DEA stated that its registration section and chief counsel’s office must first evaluate state laws and rules that provide prescribing authority to determine if they align with federal requirements and allow for the issuance of such registration.
For states that have granted its pharmacists authority to prescribe CS but have not yet submitted a request for DEA to issue pharmacists the necessary federal CS registration, DEA asks that the following information be provided to Maria Gilbert, registration section chief, at maria.l.gilbert@dea.gov and Holly Farrington, deputy registration section chief, at holly.m.farrington@dea.gov, copying Matthew Strait at matthew.j.strait@dea.gov.
- Statutes and/or regulations allowing mid-level practitioner pharmacists to prescribe, administer, and/or dispense CS.
- Information about state CS registration or licensure to mid-level practitioners, if any.
During the call, DEA also requested that states provide feedback and updated information regarding their Mid-Level Practitioners Authorization by State table. 1 NABP is collecting this information through a survey found at this link. Please note, this is the same survey that was distributed to states in mid-October, so, if it has already been completed, there is no need to do so again.
Thank you for your participation in our monthly calls and for your input toward this very important issue. If you have any questions, please contact ExecOffice@nabp.pharmacy.
1 US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division. Mid-Level Practitioners Authorization by State. US Department of Justice. Published March 22, 2023. Accessed December 19, 2024.
As indicated in the table, “[p]ursuant to Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1300.01(b28), the term mid-level practitioner means an individual practitioner, other than a physician, dentist, veterinarian, or podiatrist, who is licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted by the United States or the jurisdiction in which he/she practices, to dispense a controlled substance in the course of professional practice.” Recall that 21 US Code Section 802 states, “The term ‘dispense’ means to deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by, or pursuant to the lawful order of, a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering of a controlled substance and the packaging, labeling or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for such delivery.”
In this document, DEA notes that “[t]he table represents the controlled substances authority for Mid-level Practitioner’s by discipline within the state of which they practice. It indicates the categories of Mid-Level Practitioners by State and the licensing authority granted to each category within that particular State through the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). If authority is granted, specific schedules are listed along with any special instructions like administer only, dispense only or order only. It may also indicate if the DEA is reviewing a new law to see if it is in fact consistent with the issuance of a DEA registration for controlled substances. If authority is NOT granted for a particular category, a ‘NO’ will be indicated.”