HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1383        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1721

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Natalie M. Higgins

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to expand access to medically assisted treatment providers.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1383        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1721

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1096 OF 2017-2018.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

An Act to expand access to medically assisted treatment providers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1. The Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine shall develop or provide for, and make available for voluntary participation by any physician, a professional training module on the prescribing and administration of naltrexone, both pill and injectable form, for the treatment of opioid use disorders and alcohol use disorders. The training module shall include, but not be limited to guidelines and best practices for:

A.Assessment;

B.Care Coordination;

C.Treatment Plans, including counseling frequency and type;

D.Toxicology Screens;

E.Appropriate Length of Treatment; and

F.Relapse Prevention

The training module developed shall be accepted by the board as up to 2 continuing professional development credits.

Section 2. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, the Department of Public Health and the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services shall establish an extended release naltrexone training and technical assistance program for providers licensed or certified by the Department of Public Health. The Department shall prioritize training and ongoing technical assistance for providers serving cities and towns of the Commonwealth with greater than ten opioid related fatalities per ten thousand as documented in the study authorized by Chapter 55 of the Acts of 2015.  The Department shall also evaluate and direct training to expand the number of providers serving individuals released from Department of Correction facilities and Houses of Correction. Provided further, that said training program shall include, but not be limited to the following criteria: patient eligibility, optimal selection criteria, placement matching, patient engagement, team coaching and coordination, withdrawal management and induction, dosing and administration, clinical evaluation and laboratory monitoring, side effect management, co-occurring disorders management, drug interactions, persistence management, managed care interactions, and termination of medication.

Section 3. The department of public health shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on mental health and substance abuse on the number of providers trained and any identified obstacles to expanding the number of providers trained in extended release naltrexone by January 1, 2020.