The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #70951

Wayne Brandes, DO, AIR, American Institutes for Research (AIR), 10720 Columbia Pike, Suite 500, Silver Spring, MD 20901 and Donald Wesson, MD, 28 Sereno Circle, Oakland, CA 94619, 301-593-2115, dwesson@mindspring.com.

This session will provide an introduction to the clinical and regulatory aspects of buprenorphine and the new community based opioid therapy paradigm established by the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000). This paradigm allows qualified physicians, for the first time in more than 30 years, to dispense or prescribe specially approved Schedule III, IV, and V narcotic medications for the treatment of opioid addiction outside the context of the traditional Opioid Treatment Program setting. In order to prescribe these medications, physicians must meet certain criteria and must notify CSAT (a center of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) of their qualifications to receive a waiver from the special registration requirements of the Controlled Substances Act.

On October 8, 2002, two new formulations of the Schedule III opioid partial agonist medication buprenorphine (Suboxone® and Subutex®) became the first pharmaceuticals to receive FDA approval for use under the DATA 2000 paradigm. This new treatment paradigm promises to bring opioid addiction therapy into the mainstream of medical care, thereby greatly increasing utilization and access to care and helping to close the “treatment gap.”

Learning Objectives:

Understand the new office-based opioid addiction treatment paradigm that was enabled by the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 200
• and the FDA approval of buprenoprhine (Subutex and Suboxone). Become familiar with the pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic aspects of office-based opioid addiction treatment, including how counseling professionals can partner with physicians and other treatment team members to provide maximally effective therapy for their patients under this new treatment model. Know the resources that are available for further learning about non-pharmacologic therapies for opioid addiction, the DATA 2000 regulatory paradigm, and office-based opioid addiction treatment.

Keywords: Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Abuse

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: CSAT
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.