Tasks

The BfArM's Federal Opium Agency keeps a register on behalf of the "Laender" with data on the prescription of substitute drugs (Substitution Register). The legal basis for this is Section 13 sub-section 3 of the German Narcotic Drugs Act ("Betäubungsmittelgesetz", BtMG) in conjunction with Section 5b of the Narcotic Drugs Prescription Ordinance ("Betäubungsmittel-Verschreibungsverordnung", BtMVV).
Any physician prescribing a substitute drug for a patient addicted to opioids shall immediately report the following data to the BfArM's Federal Opium Agency:

• the patient code,
• the date of the first use of a substitute drug,
• the substitute drug prescribed,
• the date of the last use of a substitute drug,
• the name and address of the prescribing physician,
• the name and address of the consulted physician.

Furthermore, the medical associations shall inform the Federal Opium Agency which physicians meet the minimum qualification requirements for addiction therapy.
The main functions of the Substitution Register include

• preventing as early as possible multiple prescriptions of a substitute drug by several physicians for the same patient,
• checking compliance of the substituting physicians with the minimum qualification requirements for addiction therapy,
• transmitting statistical evaluations to the competent monitoring authorities and highest health authorities of the "Laender".

As a national monitoring instrument and supplier of data, the Substitution Register contributes significantly to the protection of patients and to the safety and control of substitution treatments on a federal, state, and local level.

Report on the Substitution Register

The report on the Substitution Register is made available in an annually updated form. It contains information on the legal background, the reporting procedure and the use of data from the Substitution Register. It also includes current figures on patients receiving substitution treatment, substituting physicians and substitute drugs prescribed, as well as the development thereof in recent vears. The information is compiled for Germany and in parts also for the individual federal "Laender".
Note:
More detailed data from the Substitution Register are made available to the highest health authorities of the "Laender" as well as to the competent "Land" authorities responsible for the control of physicians' traffic in narcotic drugs. Transmission of data from the Substitution Register to other institutions is not permitted.

(available in German only)