ARNPs who Prescribe Opioids

According to 655 IAC, 7.6(8): An ARNP who has prescribed opioids to a patient during the renewal cycle is required to complete a minimum of two contact hours of continuing education (CE) regarding the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain, including recommendations on limitations on dosages and the length of prescriptions, risk factors for abuse, and nonopioid and nonpharmacologic therapy options, as a condition of license renewal every three years. The ARNP shall maintain documentation of the opioid CE hours, which may be subject to audit.

On the ARNP license renewal form, the licensee will see these questions:

• Do you prescribe opioids in the course of your ARNP practice? Yes or No
• Have you completed the 2 contact hours on the CDC guidelines as described above? Yes, No, or N/A
• If you answered "yes" to the prescribing question, documentation of these hours is required to complete your renewal. 

In order to renew a license, ARNPs who prescribe opioids must send in their proof of opioid prescribing continuing education along with their current certification document for their practice role. 

See this announcement, previously sent to ARNPs on 1/31/2019 to review the CDC guidelines: 

The prescribing of opioids is a common practice in healthcare today. "In 2017, almost 57 million American patients had a least one prescription for opioids filled or refilled" (CDC, retrieved from https://cdc.gov). In an effort to assist prescribers with safe prescribing practices, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. Additionally, an interactive online training series is available for healthcare providers to better understand the prescribing recommendations. 

Legislation enacted in 2018, found under Iowa Code 272C.2C requires a prescriber to receive continuing education credits according to the CDC guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain. The Board of Nursing strongly encourages ARNPs to consider the training available on the CDC website. 

"This interactive online training series aims to help healthcare providers apply CDC’s recommendations in clinical settings through patient scenarios, videos, knowledge checks, tips, and resources.  Providers can gain a better understanding of the recommendations, the risks and benefits of prescription opioids, nonopioid treatment options, patient communication, and risk mitigation.  Each stand-alone module is self-paced and offers free continuing education credit" (CDC website, Interactive Training Series).