Can an NP prescribe Suboxone in North Carolina?

Yes — North Carolina NPs may prescribe Suboxone for opioid use disorder (buprenorphine/naloxone), a Schedule III medication for opioid use disorder, when the NP has active North Carolina NP approval with prescriptive authority, prescribing is authorized by the NP's collaborative practice agreement, and the NP has appropriate DEA Schedule III authority.¹²

The collaborative practice agreement should establish the NP's Schedule III controlled-substance authority, and prescribing should remain within the NP's population focus, education, national certification, and competence, and the primary supervising physician must have controlled-substance schedules equal to or greater than the NP's DEA registration.¹ The former federal DATA 2000/X-waiver and patient-limit framework have been eliminated for buprenorphine prescribing for opioid use disorder, but the practitioner still needs appropriate DEA authority and must satisfy applicable DEA registration training requirements.³

North Carolina's STOP Act acute-pain limits do not apply when buprenorphine is prescribed as medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder.⁴

This answer concerns office-based buprenorphine prescribing and does not equate Suboxone prescribing with methadone dispensing through an opioid treatment program. Telehealth prescribing requires a separate federal and state analysis.