SLS 20RS-150 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 362
BY SENATOR MIZELL
HEALTH CARE. Provides relative to prescriptions for opioids. (8/1/20)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 40:978(F)(1), relative to opioid prescription medications; to
3 provide for the use of the prescription monitoring program; to provide for the use of
4 the prescription monitoring program when prescribing opioid medications; to
5 provide as it relates to exemptions; and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 40:978(F)(1) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
8 ยง978. Prescriptions
9 * * *
10 F.(1) A prescriber or his delegate shall access and review the patient's record
11 in the prescription monitoring program established in R.S. 40:1001 et seq. prior to
12 initially prescribing any opioid to a patient, and shall access the prescription
13 monitoring program and review the patient's record at least every ninety days if the
14 patient's course of treatment continues for more than ninety days. The requirement
15 established in this Subsection shall not apply in the following instances:
16 (a) The drug is prescribed or administered to a hospice patient or to any other
17 patient who has been diagnosed as terminally ill.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 362
SLS 20RS-150 ORIGINAL
1 (b) The drug is prescribed or administered for the treatment of cancer-related
2 chronic or intractable pain.
3 (c) The drug is ordered or administered to a patient being treated in a
4 hospital.
5 (d) The prescription monitoring program is inaccessible or not functioning
6 properly due to an internal or external electronic issue. However, the The prescriber
7 or his delegate, however, shall check the prescription monitoring program once
8 electronic accessibility has been restored and note the cause for the delay in the
9 patient's chart.
10 (e) No more than a single seven-day supply of the drug is prescribed or
11 administered to a patient.
12 * * *
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:
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 362
SLS 20RS-150 ORIGINAL
(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))
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.