Opioid Safety – Requirements for IL

Illinois physicians are required to take three hours of Continuing Medical Education specifically on safe opioid prescribing practices.  These three hours count towards the 150 CME hours necessary for your license renewal. The three hours must be offered or accredited by a professional association (such as IAFP!), state government agency, or federal agency. 

While you will not be required to submit any documentation proving that you have completed the required three hours of opioid safety, you should keep your records in the event of an audit.  Should you be audited, all that you would need would be a copy of a CME certificate that states the course name, date taken, name of the accredited provider, and your name.

Click here, for complete information on license renewal requirements for the state of Illinois

New in 2023:  Beginning February 1, 2023, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) will update the initial prescription logic used for opioids and benzodiazepines. This impacts the fee-for-service (FFS) and HealthChoice Illinois (HCI) managed care organization (MCO) plans.  For opioids, the initial fill limit will be a maximum of five days’ supply. For benzodiazepines, the initial fill limit will be a maximum of 14 days’ supply. After the initial fill, prescriptions for these drugs may be filled for a 30 days’ supply. The initial fill limit applies to participants who have not had another opioid or benzodiazepine claim within the past 60 days. Link to the full provider notice. 

IL AFP Course Offerings
The Illinois Academy of Family Physicians already has many, 1-hour online courses on opioid safety that you can take today and more planned for the future!

The courses include:

• Opiate Use Disorder & Medication Assisted Treatment
• Buprenorphine Case Presentations & Best Practices
• Opioid Prescribing Practices: A Patient-Centered Approach To Following Guidelines

To complete these courses, please login to the IAFP Education Webpage.  Your username and password is the same as your IAFP login.  If this is your first time visiting our education website, you will need to register and create a account.  

The IAFP is committed to helping our members not only complete the new requirements, but also have the most up-to-date education on opioid safety to increase physician knowledge, improve best practices, and best help patients. Stay tuned for additional learning opportunities.

More Online Courses:

Illinois ADVANCE offers online AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ continuing education programs for Medicaid prescribers. Programs are available that prescribers may complete to meet their Illinois DEA license renewal requirement.

Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program:
Interoperability for Combating the Opioid Epidemic

Opioid Crisis:
Drug Testing in Addiction Medicine
Induction and Follow-up
Maternity Care and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)
Naloxone for the Reversal of Opioid Overdose
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
The Opioid Epidemic: Screening, Treatment, Harm Reduction, and Health Equity 

Opioid Safety Resources

Below are some opioid safety and licensure resources. For a more comprehensive and up-to-date list, click here. 

• The Illinois Action Plan – Educate yourself on the State of Illinois’ collective call to action as we confront the deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history.
• CME Requirements on Opioid Prescribing – Visit the University of Chicago’s listing of additional CME courses on this topic (as well as the 1-hour sexual harassment requirement)!
• Medical Licensure and CME Information – Need a refresher about medical licensure requirements? Visit the Illinois State Medical Society’s webpage.
• IAFP’s Resources for Opioid Prescribers – Visit IAFP’s opioid-specific webpage for a comprehensive list of links and information.

• Increasing access to Naloxone is one of multiple harm reduction strategies IDHS is utilizing to support people experiencing the disease of addiction and addressing record numbers of fatalities. To enroll and receive Narcan directly, go to: IDHS/SUPR Drug Overdose Prevention Program (state.il.us)