General Assembly Raised Bill No. 352
February Session, 2016 LCO No. 2432
*02432_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 352
February Session, 2016
LCO No. 2432
*02432_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING PRESCRIPTIONS FOR AND THE DISPENSING OF OPIOID ANTAGONISTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) A prescribing practitioner, as defined in section 20-14c of the general statutes, who is authorized to prescribe an opioid antagonist may, by standing order issued to a pharmacist licensed under part II of chapter 400j, prescribe an opioid antagonist that is (1) administered in a nasal spray form, (2) approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, and (3) dispensed by the pharmacist to any person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose or to a family member, friend or other person in a position to assist a person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose. Any such prescription shall be regarded as being issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of the prescribing practitioner's professional practice. For purposes of this section and section 20-633c, as amended by this act, "standing order" means a nonpatient specific prescription for an opioid antagonist that is administered in a nasal spray form and approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
(b) A pharmacist who agrees to accept a standing order issued under subsection (a) of this section and dispenses an opioid antagonist in accordance with the provisions of said subsection shall be deemed not to have violated any standard of care for a pharmacist.
Sec. 2. Section 20-633c of the 2016 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) (1) A person who is licensed as a pharmacist under part II of this chapter and is certified in accordance with subsection (b) of this section may prescribe, in good faith, an opioid antagonist, as defined in section 17a-714a. Such pharmacist shall [(1)] (A) provide appropriate training regarding the administration of such opioid antagonist to the person to whom the opioid antagonist is dispensed, and [(2)] (B) maintain a record of such dispensing and the training required pursuant to this chapter.
(2) A person who is licensed as a pharmacist under part II of this chapter may dispense, in good faith, an opioid antagonist, as defined in section 17a-714a, that is administered in a nasal spray form, pursuant to a standing order issued under section 1 of this act.
(b) A pharmacist may only prescribe an opioid antagonist pursuant to this section if the pharmacist has been trained and certified by a program approved by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection.
(c) A pharmacist who prescribes or dispenses an opioid antagonist in compliance with this section shall be deemed not to have violated any standard of care for a pharmacist.
(d) The provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section shall apply only to a pharmacist certified in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. No pharmacist may delegate or direct any other person to (1) prescribe an opioid antagonist, or (2) train any person in the administration of such opioid antagonist pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section.
(e) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage 20-633c
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
from passage
New section
Sec. 2
from passage
20-633c
Statement of Purpose:
To permit prescribing practitioners to issue a standing order to pharmacists to permit them to dispense an opioid antagonist in a nasal form to a person without a patient-specific prescription.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]