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What is the Physician Clinical Support System?
The SAMHSA-funded PCSS is designed to assist practicing physicians, in
accordance with the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000, in
incorporating into their practices the treatment of prescription opioid
and heroin dependent patients using buprenorphine.
The PCSS service is available, at no cost, to interested physicians and
staff, to assist in implementing office-based treatment of opioid
dependence with buprenorphine. The essential elements of the PCSS are a
national network of trained physician mentors with expertise in
buprenorphine treatment and skilled in clinical education, who will be
supported by NATIONAL EXPERTS in the use of buprenorphine and a MEDICAL
DIRECTOR.
The PCSS MENTORS are members of medical specialty societies and provide
mentoring support and educational services based on evidence-based
practice guidelines. The efforts of PCSS are coordinated by a STEERING COMMITTEE
composed of representatives from the Federal government, the leading addiction
medicine societies, along with primary care and psychiatric organizations that represent the target physician
populations.
It is estimated that in its first year of operation the PCSS will provide
clinical support services to primary care physicians, pain specialists,
psychiatrists, and other non-addiction medical practitioners in an
effort to increase access to this form of treatment. The PCSS serves to
significantly increase access to buprenorphine treatment among the
millions of untreated opioid dependent patients.
The PCSS is designed to offer support to clinicians on a number of TOPICS.
The PCSS is active in all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico.
Click here or on the image below to see the PCSS ACTIVITIES MAP.
PCSS Background
Buprenorphine, developed through scientific research conducted by the
National Institutes on Drug Abuse, approved by the Food and Drug
Administration, and supported by SAMHSA, holds tremendous promise in
increasing access to the estimated 3.5 million untreated prescription
opioid and heroin dependent patients in the United States.
Despite rigorous scientific inquiry supporting buprenorphine's
effectiveness, legislation enabling its use, and federal expenditures to
train physicians in the appropriate use of this medication, adoption by
practicing physicians has lagged behind expectations and the clinical
and public health need.
To respond to this need, ASAM, in consortium with other specialty
addiction medicine, psychiatric, pain, and general medicine societies,
created the PCSS to assist physicians in the appropriate use of this
medication.
Office-based treatment of opioid dependent patients is a new phenomenon in
American medicine.
Participating PCSS clinicians have had success and fulfillment providing
services for patients with addictive disorders in their own practice
settings, and are now able to work with other clinicians to help them
have similar experiences through this innovative nationwide program.
How Does the PCSS Operate
PCSS clinicians are practicing clinicians. PCSS clinicians will be
available within reason and based upon demand, to provide services via
telephone, email, or at their place of clinical practice. This means
that you will be able to observe a clinician providing office-based
treatment with buprenorphine at a time and place that is mutually
convenient to you and your PCSS clinician.
PCSS clinicians are available to assist you in your practice and will work
with you to arrange a time that is mutually convenient. Based on your
need, and the availability of your local/regional PCSS clinician,
services can be rendered within 24 hours.
While it is expected that inquiries presented to mentoring physicians will
be based on fact patterns related to actual cases, remarks and opinions
from mentoring physicians should be understood as being general in
nature and not directed at a specific patient or case. The PCSS program
is a vehicle for the sharing of knowledge and information; it is not a
referral mechanism. Of course, opinions and counsel from a mentor should
not be used as a substitute for the opinion, judgment, and knowledge of
the treating physician. Finally, no physician-patient or other
relationship, expressed or implied, is created between a mentoring
physician and any patient by virtue of participation in the PCSS
program.
How to get involved
Contact PCSS Staff for more information about the program or to find a
PCSS clinician in your locale or region.
To register as a PCSS Participant, you may contact the PCSS directly or download, complete,
and return the PCSS Participant Registration Questionnaire form. PCSS staff will match you to a mentor within 2 days of
receiving your registration form.
For more information about applying to become a mentor click here:
PCSS MENTOR APPLICATION
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