Miller, Colleagues Send Letter to Provide Medical Students with Training in Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) joined Congresswoman Anne Kuster (D-NH) in sending a letter requesting national accreditors for medical residencies provide medical students with necessary in-person trainings and experiences to appropriately administer buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorders. The letter additionally applauds the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the Association of American Colleges (AAMC), and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) for their efforts in educating the next generation of medical professionals in methods to respond to the opioid crisis.
Joining Congresswoman Miller in co-leading the letter are Representatives Anne Kuster (D-NH), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), David Trone (D-MD), Michael Turner (R-OH), and Lori Trahan (D-MA).
Click HERE for the full letter.
On the impact of the opioid epidemic and the importance of the use of Buprenorphine in treatment:
We write to acknowledge your work to prepare the next generation of American physicians to prevent, identify, and treat opioid use disorder (OUD) and to encourage increased efforts to ensure more physicians are trained to respond to the opioid crisis.
The United States has the highest number of opioid-involved deaths per capita, and the opioid overdose epidemic has claimed over 500,000 lives since 2000. Despite the work done by extensive and diverse stakeholders, national opioid overdose deaths increased from 68,630 in 2020 to 80,411 in 2021.
This staggering statistic demonstrates the need for further interventions to ensure Americans have access to both prevention and effective treatment for OUD. Buprenorphine, when taken as prescribed, has been a critical component in saving lives by easing opioid cravings and helping individuals transition into recovery. It is the only Schedule III narcotic approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of OUD and is a critical component of any toolbox in confronting this epidemic.
On Congress implementing policies that remove the “X-waiver” and improve access to buprenorphine treatment:
To this end, Congress has worked closely with governmental agencies, advocates, and your organizations to improve access to this medication through policies such as removing the “X- waiver” and increasing the number of patients an individual physician can treat with buprenorphine. As a result of these combined efforts, buprenorphine distribution in the United States grew by 24% between 2019 to 2022. This expanded access, in addition to other key policy changes, has been instrumental in addressing OUD. However, despite legislative action that mandates training, some clinicians still express hesitation in prescribing buprenorphine.
Urging ACGME, AAMC, and AACOM to provide medical students with in-person, experiential training:
While we commend your work in this area, we believe that more can be done to provide medical students and residents with the in-person, experiential training necessary to use medication assisted treatment. We have heard from medical students, residents, and patient advocates that this direct education is a critical component of preparing our physician workforce to take on the opioid epidemic. Unfortunately, not enough medical students and residents receive this training. According to the ACGME’s 2022-2023 data resource book, while the vast majority of residency programs provided training in how to treat substance-use disorder, only 14% of emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, and psychiatry residencies provided this experiential training. This is deeply concerning.
We urge ACGME, AAMC, and AACOM to accelerate their efforts to ensure medical students and residents have the necessary clinical experiences to treat confidently and effectively those suffering from OUD.
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