Download Complete RFA Announcement in PDF format (229KB)

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
1. PURPOSE
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center
for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY)
2013 Cooperative Agreement for the Physician Clinical Support System - Medication
Assisted Treatment grant. The purpose of this program is to build upon the current
SAMHSA-funded Physician Clinical Support System – Buprenorphine (PCSS-B) , a
national mentoring network offering support (clinical updates, evidence-based outcomes
and training) by expanding the focus on buprenorphine to include the other two FDA
approved medications for the treatment of opioid addiction, methadone and extended
release naltrexone and increasing the amount of training for office based physicians and
opioid treatment program medical professionals. The program will provide up to date
and evidence-based information to support training of health professionals and to
address complex issues of addiction.
In October 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved buprenorphine
(Subutex ®) and buprenorphine combined with naloxone (Suboxone ®) as sublingual
tablet preparations indicated for detoxification and long-term therapy in opioid
dependency. These are the only two schedule III medications approved by the FDA for
treatment of opioid addiction under the Drug Addiction Treatment of 2000.
Subsequently, SAMHSA established the PCSS-B to (a) support physicians in the
workforce who are providing buprenorphine treatment, (b) promote strategies that
address practical issues in the recognition and treatment of opioid addiction through the
use of multiple training formats and technologies, (c) target primary care physicians who
are trying to integrate opioid addiction into their practice, and (d) provide advanced
training that addresses more complex issues in the treatment of opioid use disorders.
More recently, on October 12, 2010, the FDA approved extended release injectible
naltrexone (Vivitrol ®) to treat and prevent relapse after patients with opioid dependence
have undergone detoxification treatment. Extended release injectible naltrexone is a
non-narcotic product that provides an alternative to the two more widely used and
controlled substances, methadone (schedule II) and buprenorphine. While there has
been a significant increase in the number of persons who have been prescribed
buprenorphine for opioid addiction treatment in the past several years, the number of
people who have been inducted on extended release injectible naltrexone remains
relatively low in part due to the lack of education and knowledge by primary care
physicians about opioid addiction and this medication. Thus, training in the appropriate
use and indications for extended release injectible naltrexone is highly needed. The
overall lack of physician training, concerns over practical issues, and limited
understanding of the appropriate role of medication in opioid treatment also appear to
be factors in the slow adoption of newer forms of opioid treatment by the medical
profession. Thus, this program is designed to carry out the training of physicians
desiring to prescribe and/or dispense FDA approved products (buprenorphine,
methadone and naltrexone, including extended release injectible naltrexone) for the
treatment of opioid addictive disorders.
5