Buprenorphine and CIGNA Behavioral Health

CBH is pleased to announce that we are now prepared to authorize and support the use of Buprenorphine for outpatient treatment of opiate dependence. If you are a CBH contracted physician that has obtained a waiver to prescribe Buprenorphine in your office, we would like to invite you to participate in our specialty credentialed network to provide this service to our members.

   

So What is the Big Deal about Buprenorphine?

Several changes in the last six years have had an impact on the treatment of opioid abuse, including the passage of the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000, and the FDA approval of two sublingual forms of Buprenorphine for detoxification and maintenance treatment. Therefore, it is now possible for qualified physicians, even in out-patient settings, to provide opioid detoxification and maintenance treatment. This is a significant change from traditional maintenance programs (mostly methadone-based) where there are stricter regulations and the need for daily program attendance. With the advent of more flexible requirements for the treatment of opioid dependence using the sublingual forms of buprenorphine, we can now open the doors for more members and offer another, more reasonable, treatment option for both detoxification and maintenance.

   

How to become part of our Buprenorphine Network

If you are interested in providing treatment for opiate dependence with Buprenorphine in your practice and have your DEA waiver please contact us at ProviderEducationSpecialist@CIGNABehavioral.com and we’ll send you the necessary information to get started.

   

Name That Newsletter

In addition to our monthly eBrief CBH distributes a quarterly provider newsletter currently titled ‘Provider Connection’. We are looking for your assistance in creating a new, innovative name. If you have an idea please email us at ProviderEducationSpecialist@CIGNABehavioral.com with your suggestions. The winner will receive a $25.00 Starbucks gift card.

   

Now Available on our Website

Have you missed any of our monthly eBriefs? As of February our monthly eBriefs are now available on our website at www.cignabehavioral.com for you to reference. Note: if you are having difficulty connecting via the link provided, highlight the link and paste into your browser.