Pharmacists Now Authorized to Independently Prescribe Buprenorphine

On December 1, President Donald Trump signed a bill into law providing pharmacists with educational training that fulfills their requirements as prescribers of buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD).

According to an American Pharmacists Association (APhA) news release, the law allows APhA and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) to collaborate on providing the nationwide training and secure participating pharmacists’ Drug Enforcement Administration registration.¹

“Pharmacists are on the front lines of patient care, and this provision recognizes their critical role in addressing the opioid epidemic,” Michael D. Hogue, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, FFIP, executive vice president and CEO of APhA, said in the news release. “By enabling pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine with appropriate training, we are expanding access to treatment and saving lives.”

READ MORE: The Regimen: Pharmacists Bridging the Treatment Gap for Patients with OUD

Removing federal and state barriers to pharmacists’ buprenorphine prescribing abilities, the new law was signed on Monday and is known as the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (HR 2483).¹ As further time and resources go into the government’s handling of the US opioid crisis, it is now finally engaging pharmacists as key providers in addressing the issue.

The History of Pharmacists Prescribing Buprenorphine

Prior to HR 2483, the most notable legislation regarding pharmacists and their ability to prescribe OUD treatment came just 3 years prior. In December 2022, the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act was signed, giving pharmacists buprenorphine prescriptive authority and removing physician requirements to obtain Drug Addiction Treatment Act waivers before prescribing.²

Before the MAT Act, the only way for pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine treatment was through a collaborative practice agreement (CPA) with another provider. What the MAT Act did was allow pharmacists to prescribe directly or through CPAs. However, states were still able to restrict pharmacists and their prescribing abilities even after the MAT Act.

“In December 2022, Congress passed the MAT Act, which removed the federal legal barrier to pharmacist buprenorphine prescribing,” wrote authors of a study published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.³ “As a result, each state can now decide whether or not to allow pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine as an additional access point to reduce fatal opioid overdoses.”

In what experts thought would significantly improve access to buprenorphine and OUD treatment, restrictions led to just 10 states allowing pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine through CPAs and only 2 states giving pharmacists full, independent prescribing authority.⁴

Despite these previous provisions in attempting to increase access to OUD treatment, buprenorphine use in the US remains significantly underutilized and is prescribed by pharmacists less than 1% of the time.⁵

Why HR 2483 Differs from Previous Legislation

After being signed into law, with support from APhA and the ACPE, HR 2483 was designed to gather these various organizations in creating 8 hours of continuing pharmacy education for pharmacists to fulfill their prescribing requirements.¹

Known as a “reauthorization act,” this law is essentially building upon previous legislation that came before it, such as the aforementioned MAT Act, the Medication Access and Training Expansion Act, and the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000. Pharmacists previously needed training requirements, something known as an X-waiver number, a CPA, and more criteria to be able to prescribe buprenorphine.⁶

Now, pharmacists are equal with US physicians and other prescribing health care providers when it comes to buprenorphine and OUD treatment.

New waves of the opioid epidemic continue to unravel despite concerted efforts from both the health care sector and the federal government. This recent action is yet another law to help bolster OUD treatment in the US, bring pharmacists into the conversation, and make accessing life-saving drugs for patients significantly more convenient.

The law also marked a milestone for APhA as it continues to promote the pharmacists’ role in public health and ultimately advocate for patients across the US.

“This marks the first time APhA has been explicitly named in US legislation—an unprecedented milestone for the profession of pharmacy,” concluded the authors of the news release.¹ “APhA will provide additional details soon on how pharmacists can access the required CPE training through APhA and ACPE.”

READ MORE: Substance Use Disorder Resource Center

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REFERENCES

1. APhA secures key congressional win allowing pharmacists to prescribe buprenorphine with specialized training. News Release. APhA. December 2, 2025. Accessed December 3, 2025. https://www.pharmacist.com/APhA-Press-Releases/apha-secures-key-congressional-win-allowing-pharmacists-to-prescribe-buprenorphine-with-specialized-training

2. Study: pharmacists’ buprenorphine prescribing increases, but not enough. US Pharmacist. June 25, 2025. Accessed December 3, 2025. https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/study-pharmacists-buprenorphine-prescribing-increases-but-not-enough

3. Adams JA, Chopski NL, Adams AJ. Opportunities for pharmacist prescriptive authority of buprenorphine following passage of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act. JAPhA (2003). 2023 Sep-Oct;63(5):1495-1499. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2023.06.001.

4. Bonner L. Pharmacists can prescribe buprenorphine, but state laws create hurdles. APhA. Accessed December 3, 2025. https://www.pharmacist.com/Blogs/CEO-Blog/Article/pharmacists-can-prescribe-buprenorphine-but-state-laws-create-hurdles

5. Tran EL, Rikard SM, Guy GP, et al. The Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act and pharmacist-prescribed buprenorphine. JAMA. 2025;334(3):269–271. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.7151

6. Xu J. Removing the X-waiver to prescribe buprenorphine. University of Minnesota. Accessed December 3, 2025. https://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/removing-x-waiver-prescribe-buprenorphine