Alabama Administrative Code
Title 540 - ALABAMA BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS
Chapter 540-X-21 - POLICY ON DATA 2000: GUIDELINES FOR THE TREATMENT OF OPIOID ADDICTION IN THE MEDICAL OFFICE[1]
Section 540-X-21-.01 - Introduction

(a) The use of buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid addiction is governed by the federal Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000, commonly referred to as "DATA 2000" (Public Law 106-310, Title XXXV, Sections 3501 and 3502). This legislation allows physicians to treat opioid addiction with FDA-approved controlled drugs in office-based settings. Specifically, DATA 2000 allows physicians to use buprenorphine and other controlled substances in the federal Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. §§801, et. seq.) (CSA) Schedules III, IV, and V, which have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of opioid dependence, to treat patients in office-based settings, provided certain conditions are met.

(b) DATA 2000 lifted the requirement that patients who need opioid agonist treatment can receive such treatment only in specially licensed opioid treatment programs (OTPs), often referred to as "methadone clinics."

(c) For the implementation of DATA 2000, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) delegated authority in this area to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

(a) The use of opioid agonist medications to treat opioid-addicted patients in the offices of individual physicians significantly increases the role of state medical boards in overseeing such treatment. For this reason, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) entered into an agreement with SAMHSA to develop model guidelines for use by state medical boards in regulating office-based treatment of addiction.

(b) The agreement between FSMB and SAMHSA resulted in a Model Policy adopted by FSMB in 2002. The Model Policy was updated in April 2013. The Model Policy encourages state medical boards to adopt consistent standards, to promote the public health by making appropriate treatment available to opioid-addicted patients, and to educate the regulatory and physician communities about the potential of new treatment modalities for opioid addiction.