Substance Use Disorders Prevention Measures

Substance abuse prevention - pharmacy enhanced dispensing fee - health care providers with prescriptive authority - required training - receipt of benefits for prescriptions prohibited - access to prescription drug monitoring program - appropriation to address opioid and other substance use disorder priorities - office of behavioral health grant programs created - center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support strategies program created - perinatal substance use date linkage project created - report - appropriations. The act: Allows a pharmacy that dispenses an opioid to receive an enhanced dispensing fee if the pharmacy provides counseling concerning the risk of opioids to the patient; Prohibits a physician, physician assistant, or an advanced practice nurse from accepting any direct or indirect benefits for prescribing a specific medication; Requires the state board of pharmacy to promulgate rules that require a prescription for an opioid for outpatient use to bear a warning label; Allows medical examiners and coroners access to the prescription drug monitoring program under specified circumstances; Authorizes the department of human services to conduct research that relates to the definition of "abuse" concerning the incidence of prenatal substance exposure and related newborn and family health and human services outcomes as the result of a mother's lawful and unlawful intake of controlled substances; Requires specified state departments to report to the health committees of the general assembly by December 31, 2019, the amount of federal funds that each is receiving or is eligible to receive for use in testing for hepatitis and HIV and the number of individuals currently and anticipated to be tested. The departments are also required to share eligibility standards for treatment with primary care providers. Creates the Charlie Hughes and Nathan Gauna opioid prevention grant program to improve young lives in the office of behavioral health in the department of human services (office) for the purpose preventing opioid use among the state's youth population. Requires the center for research into substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support strategies (center) to develop and implement a program to increase public awareness about the safe use, storage, and disposal of opioids, and about the availability of antagonist drugs. The general assembly is required to annually appropriate until the 2023-24 fiscal year $750,000 to the center from the marijuana tax cash fund to implement the program. Allows the center, in partnership with an institution of higher education and the state substance abuse trend and response task force to conduct a statewide perinatal substance use data linkage project; Requires the center to hire additional staff to assist local communities in applying for grants; Creates the maternal and child health pilot program in the office to provide grants to obstetric and gynecological health care clinics and to treatment facilities that provide substance use disorder or medication-assisted treatment; and Requires podiatrists, dentists, advanced practice nurses, optometrists, and veterinarians to complete substance use disorder training as part of continuing education required to renew the provider's license if the health care provider has prescriptive authority. $1,192, 367 is appropriated to the department of human services, $1,100,000 is appropriated to the department of higher education, and $2 million is appropriated department of public health and environment, all from the marijuana tax cash fund, to implement the act. Specified provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill 19-1172 becoming law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More