Including Narcotic Addiction Treatment in an Office-Based Practice

THE REGULATION of narcotic medications used in narcotic addiction treatment is unique in medical therapeutics. Physicians who want to administer or dispense opioid drugs for either narcotic maintenance or detoxification treatment by federal law must first obtain an additional annual registration from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This registration is separate from the registration familiar to physicians who prescribe other controlled medications. The additional registration is contingent on compliance both with the DEA's security regulations (inventory, record keeping, and physical security) as well as with annual certification from the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). DHHS certification is contingent on approval by individual state drug authorities and compliance with treatment regulations jointly promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Authority for this separate registration emanates from the Narcotic Addict Treatment Act (NATA) of 1974,¹ which was enacted to give