By The Star Staff
The Puerto Rico Hospitals Association reported that it will be developing several workshops to comply with new U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulations that update the requirements for health professionals who are registered and accredited by the federal agency.
“We are facing a new scenario where health professionals who are licensed or have applied for accreditation with … the DEA are required to comply with the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023,” said Pedro González, executive vice president of the Puerto Rico Hospitals Association. “The federal agency enacted a new mandatory one-time, eight-hour training requirement for all individuals registered with the agency. Especially professionals linked to the treatment and management of patients with the use of opioids or other substances covered under the Expansion of Training and Access to Medicines Law will have to access these workshops known as continuing education that are now a requirement for anyone who is in the process of renewing their licenses as of June 27, 2023.”
Officials announced that eight-hour workshops will be offered at the Hospitals Association’s facilities in the Villa Nevárez Professional Center building in San Juan, in a hybrid manner (face-to-face and virtual) for doctors, physician assistants, nurses and dentists who make up the first group that will be trained to comply with the new DEA requirements as part of the process of obtaining or renewing of their licenses.
“We have established these conferences to help meet the DEA’s new requirements. In line with our ongoing quality project workshop on opioid utilization, we will be holding courses to meet the requirements for a health professional who is going for the first time to apply for a license or be accredited with the Drug Enforcement Administration, or failing that, needs to renew their current license,” González said. “The training requirement required by the DEA is one-time, not recurring. The federal agency has indicated that especially those health professionals who handle psychiatric cases involving addictions, personnel who have been previously authorized in the dental area, medical assistants or nurses must take the eight-hour training courses.”
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