The American Academy of Pain Medicine

2006 Press Room

AAPM Remarks on DEA

November 2006
AAPM Past President, Norman Marcus, MD, discusses back pain with ABC News.

September 2006—The American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) is heartened that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has proposed returning to their previous position, which allowed physicians to issue multiple prescriptions for controlled substances when appropriate….
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Sept. 6, 2006
DEA Unveils Notice of Proposed Rule Making on Dispensing and Prescribing Controlled Substances

The DEA unveiled a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking today in the Federal Register accompanied by a policy statement “Dispensing Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain.” The proposed regulation is open for public comment for 60 days, with comments due November 6, 2006. It does not contain an explicit effective date. The regulation will not be official until promulgated in a final rule and incorporated in the Code of Federal Regulations. Assuming this occurs, the proposed rule would allow a physician to prescribe up to a 90-day supply of Schedule II controlled substances during a single office visit, where medically appropriate.

Since the FAQs were pulled out of the public domain nearly two years ago, AAPM has been actively pursuing discussions with stakeholders, including the DEA, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), and other pain organizations.  Efforts have been targeted toward restoring the balance between the need to respond to two critical public health issues:  under-treatment of pain and diversion of Schedule II prescription medications.  While the DEA announcement of a proposed rule today does not ensure this balance, the Academy is pleased that it appears to be a step toward opening lines of formal communication on the issue.
 
In response to this development, AAPM has developed a statement that was released to the media today. Click to view a copy of the AAPM Statement on DEA Proposal Allowing Multiple Prescription for Controlled Substances.

The full version of the DEA Practitioner’s Manual that includes the policy statement can be found at  http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/manuals/pract/index.html.

A brief audio update on the proposed DEA changes will be available on the Legal Side of Pain website, www.legalsideofpain.com, after 10 p.m.( EST) tonight, Sept. 6, 2006. The audio podcast will be available under the AAPM section of the Legal Side of Pain website to all AAPM preferred members. Preferred membership in the Legal Side of Pain is free to all AAPM members and can be obtained by visiting www.legalsideofpain.com or sending an email to jbolen@legalsideofpain.com.