The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument, were prepared by Carla S. Roberts.
DIGEST
SB 362 Original 2020 Regular Session Mizell
Present law provides that licensed healthcare practitioners must obtain a controlled dangerous
substance license in Louisiana to prescribe prescription medications.
Present law provides that a medical practitioner shall not issue a prescription for more than a
seven-day supply when issuing a first-time opioid prescription for outpatient use to an adult or minor
patient with an acute condition.
Present law provides that a medical practitioner may issue more than a seven-day supply if the
medical practitioner believes that a supply of more than a seven-day supply of an opioid is required
to treat the following conditions:
(1)Chronic pain management.
(2)Pain associated with a cancer diagnosis.
(3)Palliative care.
Present law provides for the use of the prescription monitoring program (PMP), which is a computer
data base that allows medical practitioners and pharmacists to have access to a patient's critical
controlled substance prescription history information. Present law provides for automatic enrollment
into the PMP upon initial licensure or upon annual renewal of a prescriber's controlled dangerous
substance license.
Present law provides that a prescriber must access the PMP when prescribing an opioid controlled
dangerous substance and review the patient's record at least every 90 days if the patient's course of
treatment continues for more than 90 days. Present law further provides for exceptions that do not
require the PMP to be accessed under the following instances:
(1)The opioid drug is prescribed or administered to a hospice or terminally ill patient.
(2)The opioid is prescribed or administered for the treatment of cancer-related chronic or
intractable pain.
(3)The opioid is ordered or administered to a patient being treated in a hospital.
(4)The PMP inaccessible or not functioning properly due to an internal or external electronic
issue. Present law requires the prescriber or his delegate, however, to check the PMP once
electronic accessibility has been restored and note the cause for the delay in the patient's chart.
(5)No more than a single seven-day supply of an opioid is prescribed or administered to a
patient.
Proposed law retains present law but removes the exception which exempts medical practitioners
from the requirement to check the PMP when the opioid prescription is written for no more than a
single seven day supply. Proposed law requires a medical practitioner to access the PMP when
prescribing an opioid, regardless of whether the opioid will be prescribed for less or more than seven
days, except when the PMP is inaccessible or not functioning or the patient has cancer or is
terminally ill.
Effective August 1, 2020.
(Amends R.S. 40:978(F)(1))