Signed by Governor Henry McMaster

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that expands availability of naloxone (narcan) prescriptions to patients under certain circumstances.

Highlights:

• Authorizes a prescriber to do the following (Sec. 1.A):

• Offer a prescription for naloxone hydrochloride or another drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression to a patient if one or more of the following conditions are present:

• The prescription dosage for the patient is fifty or more morphine milligram equivalents of an opioid medication per day;

• An opioid medication is prescribed concurrently with a prescription for benzodiazepine; or

• The patient presents with an increased risk for overdose, including a patient with a history of overdose, a patient with a history of a substance use disorder, or a patient at risk for returning to a high dose of opioid medication to which the patient is no longer tolerant.

• Provide education to patients receiving a prescription on overdose prevention and the use of naloxone hydrochloride or another drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression; and

• Provide education on overdose prevention and the use of naloxone hydrochloride or another drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the complete or partial reversal of opioid depression to one or more persons designated by the patient or, for a patient who is a minor, to the patient's parent or guardian.

• Specifies a prescriber who fails to offer a prescription, or fails to provide the education and the use information required may be subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing board (Sec. 1.B).

Full Bill Text