APA is now providing online training in the use of buprenorphine for office-based treatment of opiate-dependent patients.
The eight-hour training course fulfills the training requirement under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 for physicians who are not certified in addiction psychiatry, but wish to use buprenorphine for office-based treatment of patients with addictions to substances such as heroin or oxycotin.
APA is one of five organizations designated in the federal legislation to provide the required training, according to Kathleen Debenham, director of APA’s Department of Continuing Medical Education.
Debenham told Psychiatric News that APA received a grant from the federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to develop the online training program.
The course fee is $100 for APA members and $200 for nonmembers.
The approval of buprenorphine for office-based treatment represents a “paradigm change” from methadone treatment of addiction, she said.
“This is a new direction in treatment that recognizes the changing demographics of addiction,” said Debenham. “Teenagers, white-collar workers, and suburban dwellers are now among the patients being treated for addiction. This is a way to reach that population.
“The APA online program incorporates slide and audio presentations, case studies, and flow charts for treatment. This format provides a convenient way for psychiatrists to work at their own pace to meet the federal training requirement needed to qualify for a waiver to prescribe or dispense buprenorphine in their offices.”
Expanding Free CME
APA’s Department of Continuing Medical Education is working to expand online educational programs and provide them free to members. These efforts were reinforced by a recent APA Assembly action paper that expressed interest in more free CME for members.
There are now nine three-hour CME programs on APA practice guidelines on APA’s Web site. They include programs on practice guidelines for the treatment of patients with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, HIV-AIDS, delirium, major depressive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, panic disorder, schizophrenia, and eating disorders. A newly approved guideline on treatment of patients with suicidal behavior will soon be added.
All of the CME programs on practice guidelines are text based, which allows easy access for the user. Each program is priced at $15 for members and $30 for nonmembers. Debenham said the department hopes to offer the programs without charge to members soon.
Also available on APA’s Web site is a program on the molecular biology of memory featuring a lecture by psychiatrist Eric Kandel, M.D., “Molecular Biology of Memory: A Dialogue Between Genes and Synapses.” The lecture, which was presented at APA’s 2001 annual meeting, includes options for audio and slides or video streaming, and contains Kandel’s original slides shown at the lecture, Debenham said. The cost is $10 for members and $25 for nonmembers.
Additional Programs
The Department of CME is working to develop additional programs—free to members—based on the scientific program at the 2003 annual meeting and will continue the free Grand Rounds online program (Psychiatric News, March 21). More information on these programs will be published in Psychiatric News as they become available.
The programs cited in this article can be accessed on the Web by clicking on “Online CME Programs” under “Lifelong Learning” on APA’s homepage at www.psych.org or going directly to www.psych.org/cme/apacme/. ▪