The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has expanded practice guidelines allowing certain practitioners who are state licensed and registered by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to have the ability to more easily prescribe buprenorphine to patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). The expansion scales back the DEA “X-waiver” to further expand patient access to the lifesaving medication. NABP and bipartisan lawmakers continue to push for Congress to pass the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act (MAT Act), which would permanently remove the DEA X-waiver and lay the groundwork for states to utilize pharmacists to provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
As part of his 2020-2021 presidential initiative, former NABP President Timothy D. Fensky, RPh, DPh, FACA, along with NABP and its member boards, have urged Congress to pass the MAT Act to allow states to recognize pharmacists as MAT providers for patients diagnosed with OUD.