Can I Prescribe Opioid Analgesia to a Patient in a Methadone Clinic?
Dear DEA I am requesting clarification on the legality of prescribing opioid analgesia to a pain patient who also receives methadone on a regular schedule from a narcotic treatment program (NTP). The once-a-day dispensing of methadone is adequate to treat his addiction but not his pain syndrome. \ The Code of Federal Regulations states I may administer, prescribe, or dispense a Schedule II controlled substance to a person with intractable pain, in which no relief or cure is possible or none has been found after a reasonable effort (21 CFR 1306.07). I know I can treat acute/chronic pain with a Schedule II controlled substance in a recovering narcotic-addicted patient. Federal law or regulations do not restrict the prescribing, dispensing, or administering of a narcotic medication to a narcotic-addicted patient for the purpose of alleviating pain if such prescribing is medically appropriate within standards set by the medical community (21 CFR 1306.07). I understand that my records must d
