Budget Amendment ID: FY2014-S3-562-R1

Redraft EHS 562

Schedule V Medications

Mr. Michael O. Moore moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, after section ___, the following new section:-

“SECTION ____.  Subsection (c) of section 24A of chapter 94C of the General Laws, as amended by chapter 244 of the acts of 2012, is hereby amended by striking the words: “The department, in consultation with all relevant licensing authorities, shall promulgate regulations that require participants to utilize the prescription monitoring program prior to seeing a new patient, including circumstances where participants would not be required to utilize the prescription monitoring program prior to seeing a new patient; a requirement that pharmacists be trained in the use of the prescription monitoring program as part of the continuing education requirements mandated for licensure by the board of registration in pharmacy, under section 24A of chapter 112 and a requirement that allows authorized support staff to use the prescription monitoring program on behalf of a registered participant.” and inserting in place thereof the following:-

“The department shall promulgate rules and regulations relative to the use of the prescription monitoring program by registered participants that shall include requiring participants to utilize the prescription monitoring program prior to the issuance of a prescription for a narcotic drug contained in Schedule II or III to a patient for the first time. The department may require participants to utilize the prescription monitoring program prior to the issuance to a patient for the first time of benzodiazepines or any other schedule IV or V commonly abused prescription drug that may lead to physical or psychological dependence or that patients with a history of substance dependence have been shown to experience significant addictive symptoms. The regulations shall specify the circumstances under which such narcotics may be prescribed without first utilizing the prescription monitoring program. The regulations may also specify the circumstances under which support staff may use the prescription monitoring program on behalf of a registered participant. When promulgating the rules and regulations, the department shall also require that pharmacists be trained in the use of the prescription monitoring program as part of the continuing education requirements mandated for licensure by the board of registration in pharmacy, pursuant to section 24A of chapter 112 of the General Laws. The department shall also study the feasibility and value of expanding the prescription monitoring program to include Schedule VI prescription drugs.”