Amendment #7 to H4725

to prevent the abuse of emergency rooms for the procurement of opioids

Mr. McKenna of Webster moves to amend the bill by adding the following new section;

Section XX

Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 51 ½ the following section:-

Section 51 ¾.  As used in this section, “pain medication” shall mean any opioid as defined in section 1 of chapter 94C, benzodiazepine, barbiturate or any other prescription medication for the treatment of pain that is likely to show up in the results of a urinalysis drug test.

A treating clinician, prior to prescribing or dispensing pain medication to a patient presenting in an acute-care hospital or satellite emergency facility as those terms are defined in section 52 ½ , shall ask said patient, to the extent possible, the following questions:

“Are you currently on probation?”

“Are you currently required to take court mandated drug tests as a condition of your probation?”

If the patient answers in the affirmative to both such questions, the treating clinician shall request the patient to submit to a urinalysis drug test prior to the prescribing or dispensing of any pain medication.  The treating clinician shall inform the patient that the results of the drug test will be shared with the department of probation. If the patient answers in the negative to either question, or to both questions, the treating clinician shall not administer a drug test pursuant to this section.

If the patient answers in the affirmative to both such questions and submits to a drug test as required by this section, the treating clinician shall, in a timely manner, provide the department of probation with: (i) the patient’s name, (ii) the responses to the questions and results of the drug test administered pursuant to this section, and (iii) a copy of the prescription for any pain medication the clinician prescribed or dispensed.

If the patient answers in the affirmative to both such questions and does not submit to a drug test as required by this section, the treating clinician shall, in a timely manner, provide the department of probation with: (i) the patient’s name, (ii) the responses to the questions, and (iii) notice that the patient has refused to submit to a drug test

This section shall not affect the treating clinician’s diagnosis and treatment of the patient, including the prescribing or dispensing of pain medication, and shall not prevent a treating clinician from dispensing pain medication as necessary to a patient in need of urgent medical treatment.