Suboxone doctors who choose to incorporate the use of Suboxone into their treatment regimens are required to successfully complete an additional 8 hour course in order to obtain the required credentials. What makes it even more difficult is after the doctors gain certification, there will be a limit as to how many individuals they may treat with Suboxone at any given time. However, once doctors gain a year or more of experience, they will be allowed to treat more patients addicted to opioids; however this number will always be limited, due to the extensive rules and regulations regarding Suboxone treatment.
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What is Suboxone?
Suboxone is a combination medication that is used to treat opioid addiction. When taken correctly, in tablet form, it is allowed to dissolve under the tongue, or it can be administered as a filmstrip that is placed on the tongue and allowed to dissolve. Buprenorphine is the most important ingredient and it functions as a partial opioid agonist. A partial opioid agonist is an opioid that works to produce fewer effects than that of a full opioid when it attaches to the opioid receptors in the brain.
The other ingredient in Suboxone is naloxone, which is an opioid antagonist, or an opioid blocker. Naloxone is added to Suboxone to discourage individuals from trying to snort or inject the medication, because if that were to happen the naloxone component will quickly travel to the brain and trigger a severe withdrawal syndrome – which if someone experiences once, they will never want to again.
Who can prescribe Suboxone?
Not every doctor can prescribe Suboxone. Instead, writing this prescription is limited only to those who have received specialized training. This training takes eight hours and is followed up with an application to the Drug Enforcement Administration for approval. Approved doctors are given a specialized prescribing number from the DEA.
In addition, these prescribing doctors can only treat a certain number of patients with Suboxone at one time. This requirement is in place to help prevent the abuse of this drug because it is itself an opioid. For the first year after completing the class, doctors can only treat thirty patients at a time. That number is increased to one-hundred patients for future years.
Prescribers can be difficult to find especially for patients living in more rural areas. However, patients will have to ensure that a doctor found on the registry still maintains a DEA approval and is still accepting new patients. In addition, some general practitioners also prescribe Suboxone. While it can be difficult to speak up, this doctor/patient relationship is a confidential one and provides a judgement-free zone. Family physicians who are unable to prescribe Suboxone currently can at least help their patients find a doctor who does.
Sometimes the best place to get a prescription for Suboxone is at a special clinic for drug abuse and addiction. Rehabilitation centers often have physicians within them who are able to prescribe a variety of different drugs, including Suboxone. These doctors can provide outpatient help most of the time and may recommend additional resources, such as therapy, to supplement treatment. Patients will be able to find behavioral help and counseling from qualified practitioners in these establishments. The support that one gets at an addiction clinic can be the deciding force behind one’s ability to leave addiction in the past. Whichever doctor one uses should also be able to provide a treatment plan that will gradually get an individual off the Suboxone and back into a healthy lifestyle.
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References
1 - SUBOXONE® (buprenorphine and naloxone) Sublingual Film (CIII)
2 - Suboxone Prescribing Information
3 - Alternative ways to find buprenorphine treatment
4 - Buprenorphine Waiver Management