05-15500. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on [phone].

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Notification of Intent To Use Schedule III, IV, or V Opioid Drugs for the Maintenance and Detoxification Treatment of Opiate Addiction Under 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(2) (OMB No. 0930-0234)—Revision

The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (“DATA,” Pub. L. 106-310) amended the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(g)(2)) to permit practitioners (physicians) to seek and obtain waivers to prescribe certain approved narcotic treatment drugs for the treatment of opiate addiction. The legislation sets eligibility requirements and certification requirements as well as an interagency notification review process for physicians who seek waivers.

To implement these new provisions, SAMHSA developed a notification form (SMA-167) that facilitates the submission and review of notifications. The form provides the information necessary to determine whether practitioners (i.e., independent physicians and physicians in group practices (as defined under section 1877(h)(4) of the Social Security Act) meet the qualifications for waivers set forth under the new law. Use of this form will enable physicians to know they have provided all information needed to determine whether practitioners are eligible for a waiver.

However, there is no prohibition on use of other means to provide requisite information. The Secretary will convey notification information and determinations to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which will assign an identification number to qualifying practitioners; this number will be included in the practitioner's registration under 21 U.S.C. 823(f).

Practitioners may use the form for two types of notification: (a) New, and (b) immediate. Under “new” notifications, practitioners may make their initial waiver requests to SAMHSA. “Immediate” notifications inform SAMHSA and the Attorney General of a practitioner's intent to prescribe immediately to facilitate the treatment of an individual (one) patient under 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(2)(E)(ii).

The form collects data on the following items: Practitioner name; state medical license number and DEA registration number; address of primary location, telephone and fax numbers; e-mail address; name and address of group practice; group practice employer identification number; names and DEA registration numbers of group practitioners; purpose of notification new, immediate, or renewal; certification of qualifying criteria for treatment and management of opiate dependent patients; certification of capacity to refer patients for appropriate counseling and other appropriate ancillary services; certification of maximum patient load, certification to use only those drug products that meet the criteria in the law. The form also notifies practitioners of Privacy Act considerations, and permits practitioners to expressly consent to disclose limited information to the SAMHSA Buprenorphine Physician Locator.

Since July 2002, SAMHSA has received just over 6,000 notifications and has certified over 5,500 physicians. Eighty-one percent of the notifications were submitted by mail or by facsimile, with approximately twenty percent submitted through the Web based online system. Approximately 60 percent of the certified physicians have consented to disclosure on the SAMHSA Buprenorphine Physician Locator.

Respondents may submit the form electronically, through a dedicated Web page that SAMHSA will establish for the purpose, as well as via U.S. mail.

The following table summarizes the estimated annual burden for the use of this form.

Purpose of submission	Number of respondents	Responses per respondent	Burden per response (hr)	Total burden (hrs)
Initial Application for Waiver	2,000	1	.083	166
Notification to Prescribe Immediately	50	1	.083	4
Total	2,050			170

Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, Room 7-1044, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

Dated: July 29, 2005.

Anna Marsh,

Executive Officer, SAMHSA.