Bill > SB209

This bill enacts the Jeff, Dave, and Angie Patient Right to Try Act, which establishes comprehensive guidelines for prescribing, dispensing, and administering drugs, with a particular focus on patient autonomy and off-label medication use. The legislation provides protections for healthcare professionals and facilities when prescribing or dispensing drugs, including those used for purposes not originally approved by the FDA, while ensuring patient safety and informed consent. Key provisions include requiring pharmacists and healthcare facilities to dispense prescribed drugs with limited exceptions (such as documented life-threatening allergic reactions), mandating that the ultimate decision to take a drug rests with the patient or their personal representative, and protecting healthcare professionals from professional disciplinary actions for prescribing or discussing drugs, including off-label uses, as long as they are not acting with recklessness or gross negligence. The bill also requires transparent communication about drug costs, particularly in outpatient settings, and ensures that patients can transfer to another facility if their current facility is unwilling to prescribe a desired treatment. However, the law specifically excludes certain types of medications from its provisions, such as controlled substances, drugs with specific FDA risk mitigation strategies, cross-sex hormones, abortifacients, and drugs intended for euthanasia.

Health and Social Services

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb209