As of January 2023, the X-waiver is no longer required to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. Any references to the X-waiver no longer apply. The educational content on this site that offers CME meets the MATE Act requirements of 8 hours of training required for DEA certification.
As part of the DHCS MAT Expansion efforts combating the opioid crisis across the state of California, ISAP launched a statewide training and technical assistance initiative to support MAT prescribers to treat patients struggling with opioid use disorder. The purpose of this program (initially referred to as the Waivered Prescriber Support Initiative) is to identify the barriers to prescribing buprenorphine and provide targeted mentorship, training, and technical assistance to address those barriers. At project initiation in 2018, ISAP conducted a statewide survey to assess treatment needs of waivered prescribers, which served as the basis of the training/technical assistance plans. Find the report here. With continuing funds in 2020, the program expanded to address fentanyl and stimulant use disorders, as well as the specific needs of youth and persons experiencing homelessness or unstable housing. Given this expansion, we have broadened the program name to Provider Support Initiative (PSI). Providers, prescribers, and MAT team members can (1) connect with experienced buprenorphine providers throughout California to access direct consultation and mentorship by phone or video, on-site, or off-site TA (e.g., program/provider visits, prescriber shadowing); (2) access live and on-demand web-based trainings; (3) bring clinical questions to the CA MAT ECHO clinics, which offer case based learning utilizing the Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO™) web-based consultation mechanism. CE/CME continuing education credits are available for most events and technical assistance offerings.
Project Coordinator: Christian Frable: Cfrable@mednet.ucla.edu