Continuing education on opioids, pain management and addiction

New Alaska legislation requires a minimum of two hours of continuing education in pain management, opioid use and addiction (unless you do not hold a valid DEA registration). We’ve curated list of several accredited online courses that can be used to fulfill the new CME/CNE requirement.

For license renewals, the State Medical Board requires at least two of the total hours of CME that are required to qualify for renewal must be specific to pain management and opioid use and addiction. Courses must be category 1 of AMA-approved education, or Category 1 or 2 of AOA-approved education. AAFP Prescribed Credits are considered equal to AMA Category 1 credits.

To fully document compliance with the opioid education requirement, the title/description of the program on your Certificate of Completion should specifically reference all three areas of the required subject matter: pain management, opioid use, and addiction. Or you must take multiple courses that when combined cover all three topics.

NOTE: To document compliance with CME requirements, licensees are required to submit a certificate of course completion. The certificate must include the following information: the licensee’s name; the number of CME hours awarded and that the hours are in the required AMA or AOA categories; the name of the education program or sponsor; title of the program or description of the activity; the date of the education program or date the credits were awarded; the name, address, and signature of the instructor, sponsor, or other verifier.

It is necessary for each provider to verify that the course certificate for the course/courses you complete includes each of these required components.

CDC’s Interactive Training Series: Applying CDC’s Guideline for Prescribing Opioids (11 course series)

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, non opioid treatment options, patient communication, and risk mitigation. Each stand-alone module is self-paced and offers free continuing education credit (CME, CNE, and CEU).

Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network

The ATTC Network is an international, multidisciplinary resource for professionals in the addictions treatment and recovery services field. Its site includes trainings and materials on opioid misuse, stimulant misuse, health equity and inclusion, HIV, marijuana, HCV, advancing integration and building resiliency and compassion in the healthcare workforce.

Ohio’s Opioid Online Curricula Series

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services developed a free 23-part online curricula by expert healthcare professionals to educate a variety of disciplines about drug addiction and its impact. Additional information available here. The curricula focuses on best practices for treating opioid use disorder in a variety of settings. Courses highlight evidence-based practices for utilizing medication assisted treatment (MAT) and provide medical setting specific protocols. Each course is approximately one hour in length and offers free CME credit.

Impacting the Opioid Crisis: Prevention, Education, and Practice for Non-Prescribing Providers

This OPEN Michigan learning course developed by is designed primarily for non-prescribing healthcare, behavioral health, dental and social services professionals, as well as graduate-level students in these fields. Other individuals may also benefit from this course such as educators and physicians. Continuing Education (CE) for licensure is available upon successful completion of course content.

Provider Clinical Support System

PCSS Education & Training Portal
PCSS is a national training and clinical mentoring project developed in response to the opioid use disorder crisis. Our education and training resources were developed for primary care providers. The overarching goal of PCSS is to provide the most effective evidenced-based clinical practices in the prevention of OUD through proper opioid prescribing practices, identifying patients with OUD, and the treatment of opioid use disorder. Make sure you filter course options to display only those that provide CME/CE credit.

Treating Chronic Pain and Preventing OUD (14 course series)
This course will provide clinicians with a solid base when treating chronic pain. The curriculum was created in an effort to consolidate the vast amount of information available to clinicians into a course that provides clinicians with the information, resources, and knowledge they need to treat their patients who suffer from chronic pain, including non-pharmacological treatments. The result is the most comprehensive and up to date curriculum developed thus far for the treatment of chronic pain.

American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) E-Learning Center

This is the portal for all of ASAM’s educational offerings. Claim CME from past events or view on-demand web based offerings, live webinars, and recorded live events.