Amendment #12 to H3944

Fentanyl Misuse Screening and Overdose Deaths Investigation

Mr. Cantwell of Marshfield moves to amend the bill by inserting the following section:

Section XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of public health, in consultation with the executive office of public safety and security and representatives from acute and community hospitals, shall investigate and report on: (i) the current capacity of health care facilities in the Commonwealth, including hospital emergency departments, to screen patients for non-medical use of fentanyl, and the extent to which laboratory tests commonly used in these settings are able to identify misuse of fentanyl when it is not used in concert with other substances; (ii) the current capacity of medical examiners in the Commonwealth to identify and report on the number of overdose deaths associated primarily or solely with fentanyl abuse; and, (iii) the feasibility and costs associated with implementing or expanding the capacity of medical facilities and medical examiners to test for abuse of fentanyl, whether or not it is used in concert with other drugs.

The department shall report to the general court the results of its study and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry out its recommendations by filing the same with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the joint committee on mental health and substance abuse and the senate and house committees on ways and means not later than December 31, 2016.