CRNAs and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
New 10/24/18: The Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT) was enacted into law on October 24. Within section 3201, this Act expands earlier legislation in the 2016 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) to include Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) among providers able to prescribe medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to individuals suffering from opioid addiction.
- Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on the agency’s 2019 policy and regulatory agenda for continued action to forcefully address the tragic epidemic of opioid abuse, February 26, 2019
- H.R.6
- AANA Press Release
- Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on how new regulatory authorities will assist the agency in more forcefully addressing opioid crisis; included as part of the newly enacted Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, October 24, 2018
AANA Position Statement and Considerations
The AANA supports increased patient access to safe, responsible use of MAT for the comprehensive treatment of substance and opioid use disorder. Please review the position statement and considerations document Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Medication-Assisted Treatment for more information on MAT, a CRNA's ethical obligation and professional responsibility, prescriptive authority limitation, and steps for obtaining the MAT waiver.
On the SAMHSA website (see links below), the waiver application for CRNAs to prescribe buprenorphine as medication-assisted therapy is not available yet. Please email practice@aana.com with subject “MAT” if you’d like email notice when the waiver is accessible. Here is some background and related resources on the topic.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association (SAMHSA):
- All About Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
- Current related Legislation, Regulations, and Guidelines
- Buprenorphine Treatment Practitioner Locator
- Buprenorphine info center 866-287-2728
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL):
- NCSL Scope of Practice Policy map indicating the number of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) prescribing buprenorphine by state, based on SAMSHA waivers issued: Behavioral Health Providers Overview
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
International Nurses Society on Addiction (IntNSA)
- Mission: To advance excellence in nursing care for the prevention and treatment of addictions for diverse populations across all practice setting through advocacy, collaboration, education, research and policy development.
- Addiction Nurses Save Lives