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2015 Session

Budget Amendments - SB800 (Conference Report)

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Risk Mitigation Guidelines for Pain Medicines (language only)

Item 288 #1c

Item 288 #1c

Health and Human Resources
Department of Health

Language
Page 248, after line 8, insert:
"F. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in collaboration with the Department of Health Professions shall issue risk mitigation guidelines on the prescription of the class of potent pain medicines known as extended-release and long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesics to include co-prescription of an opioid antagonist, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for administration by family members or caregivers in a non-medically supervised environment."


Explanation
(This amendment adds language requiring the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), with assistance from the Department of Health Professions, to issue guidelines on the prescription of certain pain medicines. Opioid overdose continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. It has contributed significantly to accidental deaths among those who use prescription opioids. Opioid overdose is the number one cause of accidental death in the United States, eclipsing automobile accidents (unintentional opioid overdose kills one person every 36 minutes in this country). This increase coincides with a nearly fourfold increase in the use of prescribed opioids for the treatment of pain. With appropriate education, patients on long-term opioid therapy, and others at risk for overdose, can benefit from the availability of FDA approved opioid antagonists to utilize in the event of a known or suspected overdose. VDH guidelines will assist in mitigating the risk of opioid overdose and adverse reactions in cases of overdose.)