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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1753 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1435
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Susan L. Moran
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act authorizing pharmacists to provide opioid use disorder treatment.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Susan L. MoranPlymouth and BarnstableJoanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester2/6/2023 1 of 2
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1753 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1435
By Ms. Moran, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1435) of Susan L. Moran and Joanne
M. Comerford for legislation to authorize pharmacists to provide opioid use disorder treatment.
Public Health.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act authorizing pharmacists to provide opioid use disorder treatment.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Section 24B ½ of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
2Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting thereof the following:-
3 (c) Collaborative drug therapy management shall only be allowed in the following
4settings: (1) hospitals licensed pursuant to section 51 of chapter 111, subject to approval by the
5medical staff executive committee at a licensed hospital or designee; (2) long-term care facilities
6licensed pursuant to section 71 of chapter 111, subject to approval by the long-term care
7facilities' medical director or designee; (3) inpatient or outpatient hospice settings licensed
8pursuant to section 57D of chapter 111, subject to approval by the hospice's medical director or
9designee; (4) ambulatory care clinics licensed pursuant to section 51 of chapter 111, with on-site
10supervision by the attending physician and a collaborating pharmacist, subject to approval by the
11ambulatory care clinic's medical staff executive committee or designee, or medical director or
12designee; (5) collaborating pharmacists in a retail drug business, as registered in section 38 of 2 of 2
13chapter 112 and limited by this section, with supervision by physicians according to the terms of
14their collaborative practice agreements and limited to the following: patients 18 years of age or
15older; an extension by 30 days of current drug therapy prescribed by the supervising physician;
16and administration of vaccines or initiation of medications pursuant to a diagnosis,
17discontinuation, and/or modification of dosages of medications prescribed by the supervising
18physicians for substance use disorders, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes,
19hypertension, hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, HIV or AIDS, osteoporosis and co-
20morbidities identified by the supervising physician for the individual patient along with the
21primary diagnosis. The collaborative practice agreement shall specifically reference each disease
22state being co-managed. A patient shall be referred by supervising physicians to that physicians’
23collaborating pharmacists and shall be given notice of the collaboration and shall consent to the
24collaboration. Pharmacists in the retail setting, who have a collaborative practice agreement with
25supervising physicians which specifically allows initial prescriptions for referred patients of the
26supervising physician, may issue prescriptions for schedule II-VI controlled substances, as
27defined in clause 6 of section 3 of chapter 94C. Collaborative Practice Agreements with
28pharmacists in a retail setting that include controlled substances shall only be used to treat
29substance use disorders as defined by section 35 of chapter 123 or any disorder described in the
30most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Such
31prescriptions shall be for a patient diagnosis specified in the supervising physician's individual
32referral of that patient. A copy of the prescription shall be sent to the supervising physician
33within 24 hours.