Dea numbers & optometry

Practitioners can satisfy this training by engaging in a total of eight hours of training on treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders from the groups listed below. A few key points related to this training: 

1. The training does not have to occur in one session. It can be cumulative across multiple sessions that equal eight hours of training. 

2. Past trainings on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders can count towards a practitioner meeting this requirement. In other words, if you received a relevant training from one of the groups listed below—prior to the enactment of this new training obligation on December 29, 2022—that training counts towards the eight-hour requirement. 

3. Past DATA-Waived trainings count towards a DEA registrant’s 8-hour training requirement. 

4. Trainings can occur in a variety of formats, including classroom settings, seminars at professional society meetings, or virtual offerings. 

For your convenience, below is a preliminary list of available trainings.  The list is not comprehensive.

1. Advanced Practice Provider Executives: https://www.appexecutives.org/controlled-substances-courses

2. American Medical Association: https://edhub.ama-assn.org/course/302

3. American Society of Addiction Medicine: https://www.asam.org/education/dea-education-requirements

4. Providers Clinical Support System (PCSS): https://pcssnow.org/education-training/

5. UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs: https://uclaisap.org/sudta/sudta-training-information.html

6. NEJM Pain Management and Opioids: https://knowledgeplus.nejm.org/cme-moc/pain-management-and-opioids-cme/

No. If an optometrist is not planning on prescribing controlled substances, i.e., codeine with compounds, hydrocodone with compounds, or tramadol, a DEA number is not necessary. However, the TPA certification permits you to prescribe oral analgesics that contain the above-referenced controlled substances and a DEA number is required to prescribe these drugs. Note: Be sure to check “Schedule II Narcotic” to allow you to prescribe hydrocodone with compounds and “Schedule III Narcotic” to prescribe codeine with compounds and "Schedule IV Narcotic" to prescribe tramadol. 

The DEA has designated California optometrists with TPA certification as “mid-level practitioners,” which means they can prescribe, administer, dispense and procure only certain defined drugs. According to California law, those drugs are: 

• 1. Codeine with compounds;

  2. Hydrocodone with compounds; and 

  3. Tramadol. 

Note: Prescribing these drugs can only be for ocularrelated pain for a maximum of three days. If the pain persists after three days, the patient must be referred to an ophthalmologist. 

Yes. If an optometrist plans on procuring and storing controlled substances at multiple office locations, multiple DEA numbers will be required. Inventory and dispensing of controlled substances are tightly controlled by federal regulations; therefore, an optometrist cannot procure controlled substances and then “distribute” them to various offices. If you have questions about obtaining DEA numbers for multiple offices, please contact your local DEA office. 

No. Each provider who plans on prescribing, administering or dispensing controlled substances should have their own DEA number. For ease of administration, however, only one provider in each practice should be responsible for “procuring” controlled substances and maintaining the appropriate administrative files. 

A DEA number is required only for prescribing codeine with compounds, hydrocodone with compounds and tramadol. 

TPA optometrists may advertise that he or she is certified by the California Board of Optometry to prescribe therapeutic pharmaceutical agents. 

You are required to use “tamper-resistant” forms approved by the California Board of Pharmacy and the Department of Justice for ALL written prescriptions and to consult and report certain prescribing information to the state CURES program. Beginning January 1, 2022, all prescriptions must be submitted electronically.