Bill Text: NY S03521 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Requires health practitioners to discuss with patients the risks associated with certain pain medications before prescribing such medications; requires that for the first opioid analgesic prescription of a calendar year the prescribing physician shall counsel the patient on the risks of overdose.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S03521 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S03521-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3521

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 31, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

        AN  ACT  to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring health
          practitioners to discuss  with  patients  the  risks  associated  with
          certain  pain  medications before prescribing such medications; and in
          relation to opioid analgesic prescriptions

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  3309-b to read as follows:
     3    § 3309-b. Practitioner and patient discussions; opioid  prescriptions.
     4  1. Prior to issuing the initial prescription of a Schedule II controlled
     5  substance  for the treatment of pain or any other opioid drug which is a
     6  prescription drug for acute or chronic pain and again prior  to  issuing
     7  the  third prescription of the course of treatment, a practitioner shall
     8  discuss with the patient, or the patient's parent  or  guardian  if  the
     9  patient  is under eighteen years of age and is not an emancipated minor,
    10  the risks associated with the drugs being prescribed, including but  not
    11  limited to:
    12    (a)  the  risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid drugs
    13  and the dangers of taking opioid drugs with alcohol, benzodiazepines and
    14  other central nervous system depressants;
    15    (b) the reasons why the prescription is necessary;
    16    (c) alternative treatments that may be available; and
    17    (d) the risks associated with the use of the drugs  being  prescribed,
    18  specifically  that  opioids  are  highly  addictive,  even when taken as
    19  prescribed, that there is a risk of developing a physical or  psycholog-
    20  ical  dependence  on  the  controlled  substance,  and that the risks of
    21  taking more opioids than prescribed, or  mixing  sedatives,  benzodiaze-
    22  pines   or  alcohol  with  opioids,  can  result  in  fatal  respiratory
    23  depression.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01235-01-3
        S. 3521                             2

     1    2. The department shall develop and make  available  to  practitioners
     2  guidelines for the discussion required by this section.
     3    §  2.  The public health law is amended by adding a new section 3309-c
     4  to read as follows:
     5    § 3309-c. Opioid analgesic prescription. 1. For the first opioid anal-
     6  gesic prescription of a calendar year that is greater than a one  week's
     7  supply, the prescribing physician shall counsel the patient on the risks
     8  of  overdose,  and  inform  the patient of the availability of an opioid
     9  antagonist, including, but not limited to, naloxone.
    10    2. For the purposes of this section, the following  terms  shall  have
    11  the following meanings:
    12    (a)  "Opioid  analgesics" means the medicines buprenorphine, butorpha-
    13  nol,  codeine,  hydrocodone,  hydromorphone,  levorphanol,   meperidine,
    14  methadone,  morphine,  nalbuphine,  oxycodone, oxymorphone, pentazocine,
    15  propoxyphene as well as their brand names, isomers and combinations.
    16    (b) "Opioid antagonist" means an FDA-approved drug that, when adminis-
    17  tered, negates or neutralizes in whole or in  part  the  pharmacological
    18  effects  of  an  opioid in the body. The opioid antagonist is limited to
    19  naloxone or other  medications  approved  by  the  department  for  this
    20  purpose.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    22  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    23  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    24  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    25  completed on or before such effective date.