Bill > S1041

This bill aims to enhance regulations around high-volume and high-risk prescriptions, particularly for opioid medications, by introducing new definitions for "extended-release long-acting opioid" and "non-abuse deterrent opioid" drugs, and by establishing a specialty designation for practitioners authorized to prescribe certain high-risk, non-abuse deterrent opioid drugs. This specialty designation requires practitioners to be actively practicing, licensed, and to have completed continuing education in pain management and substance abuse prevention. The bill also imposes stricter limits on initial and subsequent opioid prescriptions, generally capping them at a 15-day supply, with a total of 30 days within a 60-day period, unless specific conditions are met, including patient evaluation, determination of inadequacy of other treatments, use of the prescription monitoring program (which tracks controlled substance prescriptions), and a pain management treatment agreement. For opioid drugs identified as posing a heightened public health risk, practitioners must also document the medical necessity and their professional judgment that other treatments are unsuitable. Furthermore, the bill mandates that practitioners authorized to prescribe these high-risk drugs must use the prescription monitoring program before issuing each prescription, and the department will conduct bi-annual random audits of such prescriptions to ensure compliance, reporting any violations to the relevant professional licensing boards.