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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6913
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 6013
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING OPIOIDS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) A substance abuse treatment 1
facility licensed as an institution pursuant to section 19a-490 of the 2
general statutes shall (1) retain records regarding each person who 3
receives treatment from the facility for not less than one year after the 4
person last receives treatment, including, but not limited to, the person's 5
address, telephone number and any additional contact information the 6
person agrees to provide; (2) contact or attempt to contact the person for 7
a status update on the person's physical and mental health not less than 8
once every four months, for a period of not less than one year, after the 9
person last received treatment from such facility; and (3) offer to or refer 10
such person to additional substance use disorder treatment services if 11
the person expresses a need or desire for such services. 12
Sec. 2. Section 10a-55t of the general statutes is repealed and the 13
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 14
(a) Not later than January 1, 2020, the president of each institution of 15 Raised Bill No. 6913
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higher education in the state shall (1) develop and implement a policy 16
consistent with subsection (b) of this section concerning the availability 17
and use of opioid antagonists, as defined in section 17a-714, by students 18
and employees of the institution, (2) submit such policy to the 19
Department of Consumer Protection for approval, and (3) upon 20
approval of the department, post such policy on the institution's Internet 21
web site. 22
(b) The policy of each institution of higher education concerning the 23
availability and use of opioid antagonists shall (1) designate a medical 24
professional or public safety professional to oversee the purchase, 25
storage and distribution of opioid antagonists on each of its campuses, 26
(2) identify the location or locations on each of its campuses where the 27
opioid antagonists are stored, which location or locations shall be made 28
known and accessible to students and employees of such institution, (3) 29
require maintenance of the supply of opioid antagonists in accordance 30
with the manufacturer's guidelines, and (4) require a representative of 31
the institution to call 911 or notify a local emergency medical services 32
provider prior to, during or as soon as practicable after each use of an 33
opioid antagonist on the institution's campus that is reported to the 34
institution or observed by a medical professional or public safety 35
professional, unless the person to whom the opioid antagonist was 36
administered has already received medical treatment for his or her 37
opioid-related drug overdose. 38
(c) Not later than January 1, 2024, the president of each institution of 39
higher education shall report, in accordance with the provisions of 40
section 11-4a, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly 41
having cognizance of matters relating to public health and higher 42
education and employment advancement regarding the 43
implementation of the policy concerning the availability and use of 44
opioid antagonists on each campus. 45
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section: 46
(1) "Prescription digital therapeutic" means a software-based medical 47 Raised Bill No. 6913
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device that (A) has been cleared or approved by the federal Food and 48
Drug Administration, (B) is intended to prevent, manage or treat a 49
substance use disorder, (C) a licensed health care provider prescribes for 50
a patient, and (D) a patient may access through an application on a 51
mobile device; 52
(2) "Licensed health care provider" means a licensed health care 53
provider with experience treating patients with a substance use disorder 54
who is authorized to prescribe a prescription digital therapeutic within 55
the scope of such provider's practice; 56
(3) "Opioid use disorder" means a medical condition characterized by 57
a problematic pattern of opioid use and misuse leading to clinically 58
significant impairment or distress; and 59
(4) "Substance use disorder" means a pattern of use of alcohol or other 60
substances that meets the applicable diagnostic criteria delineated in the 61
most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association's 62
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 63
(b) Not later than January 1, 2024, the Department of Mental Health 64
and Addiction Services, in collaboration with the Department of Public 65
Health, shall establish a pilot program pursuant to which licensed 66
health care providers may prescribe prescription digital therapeutics to 67
patients with opioid use disorder or another substance use disorder for 68
the management or treatment of such disorder. The Commissioners of 69
Mental Health and Addiction Services and Public Health shall jointly 70
develop eligibility criteria and guidelines for the pilot program. Such 71
guidelines shall include, but need not be limited to, authorizing the 72
provision of a prescription digital therapeutic for not less than a three-73
month period for up to one thousand such patients. 74
(c) Not later than January 1, 2025, the Commissioner of Mental Health 75
and Addiction Services shall report, in accordance with the provisions 76
of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee 77
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 78
health on the implementation of the pilot program and any 79 Raised Bill No. 6913
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recommendations for continuing or expanding the pilot program. 80
Sec. 4. Section 21a-317 of the general statutes is repealed and the 81
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 82
Every practitioner who distributes, administers or dispenses any 83
controlled substance or who proposes to engage in distributing, 84
prescribing, administering or dispensing any controlled substance 85
within this state shall (1) obtain a certificate of registration issued by the 86
Commissioner of Consumer Protection in accordance with the 87
provisions of this chapter, (2) if the practitioner is engaged in 88
prescribing a controlled substance, register for access to the electronic 89
prescription drug monitoring program established pursuant to 90
subsection (j) of section 21a-254 in a manner prescribed by the 91
commissioner, and (3) if the practitioner is engaged in transporting a 92
controlled substance for the purpose of treating a patient in a location 93
that is different than the address that the practitioner provided to the 94
Department of Consumer Protection as a registrant, as defined in section 95
21a-240, notify the department, in a manner prescribed by the 96
commissioner, of the intent to transport such controlled substance and, 97
after dispensing such controlled substance, return any remaining 98
amount of such controlled substance to a secure location at the address 99
provided to the department. If the practitioner cannot return any 100
remaining amount of such controlled substance to such address, the 101
commissioner may approve an alternate location, provided such 102
location is also approved by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, or 103
any successor agency. The practitioner shall report any dispensation by 104
the practitioner of a controlled substance that occurs at a location other 105
than the address provided to the department to the prescription drug 106
monitoring program pursuant to subsection (j) of section 21a-254 upon 107
returning to such address. No practitioner shall transport a controlled 108
substance under subdivision (3) of this section to a location that is within 109
five hundred feet of an elementary or secondary school ground, child 110
care center, playground or public park, except a location that is a private 111
residence where the dispensation of the controlled substance occurs 112
inside such residence. 113 Raised Bill No. 6913
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage 10a-55t
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2023 21a-317
Statement of Purpose:
To combat the opioid pandemic.
[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.]