The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a rule change to allow physicians to prescribe buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) without a waiver. The move by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) eliminates the eight-hour X-waiver course physicians were required to complete by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) before prescribing buprenorphine treatment. Physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other approved advanced practice nurses will still need to obtain an X-waiver before prescribing buprenorphine for the treatment of OUD. For more information on this change please visit the HHS website.
