Establishes licensure procedure for prescribers of controlled substances including definitions, training, training accreditation and further requirements.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6771
IN SENATE
March 7, 2014
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAZIARZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to maintenance of licen-
sure for prescribers of controlled substances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6505-d
2 to read as follows:
3 § 6505-d. Coursework or training for maintenance of professional
4 licensure. 1. In order to maintain his or her professional license,
5 every prescriber shall complete the coursework or training described in
6 this section relating to the treatment and management of patients to
7 whom controlled substances are prescribed. For the purposes of this
8 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
9 (a) "Prescriber" shall mean any practitioner that is (i) authorized to
10 prescribe controlled substances to a human patient pursuant to his or
11 her licensed professional practice, and (ii) registered under the feder-
12 al controlled substances act and in possession of a registration number
13 from the drug enforcement administration, United States department of
14 justice, or its successor agency.
15 (b) "High volume prescriber" shall mean a prescriber that (i) has
16 thirty or more patients being treated for chronic pain for whom any dose
17 of an opioid has been prescribed for ninety or more continuous days,
18 and/or (ii) has at least one patient for whom a daily dose of at least
19 one hundred milligrams of morphine or its equivalent was prescribed
20 within the past twelve months.
21 2. (a) Within available appropriations or from other funds appropri-
22 ated for the purposes of this section, the office of the professions, in
23 consultation with the department of health and the office of alcoholism
24 and substance abuse services, shall establish an expert-level work group
25 to develop content areas, evidence-based curricula, and outcomes meas-
26 urement methods for coursework or training relating to the treatment and
27 management of patients to whom controlled substances are prescribed.
28 Such work group shall be composed of no less than seven individuals and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14237-02-4
S. 6771 2
1 shall consist of practicing physicians or other prescribers, pharma-
2 cists, addiction medicine experts, experts in medical education and
3 delivery of educational programs, and at least one parent or other advo-
4 cate for children with addiction. The members of the work group shall
5 not have any direct relationship to any pharmaceutical company or any
6 organization representing the interests of pharmaceutical companies. The
7 members of the work group shall be selected within one hundred eighty
8 days of the effective date of this section. Members of the work group
9 shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be allowed
10 actual and necessary expenses in the performance of their duties pursu-
11 ant to this section.
12 (b) The coursework or training developed by the work group may
13 include, but not be limited to, instruction in the following subject
14 areas: (i) requirements of the internet system for tracking over
15 prescribing (I-STOP) act; (ii) federal drug enforcement agency require-
16 ments relating to prescribing controlled substances; (iii) managing
17 acute pain; (iv) managing addiction including but not limited to
18 prevention, screening and intervention for at-risk behavior, identifica-
19 tion of addiction, and treatment referrals; (v) opioid and non-opioid
20 pain management; (vi) dosing and monitoring for all prescription drugs;
21 (vii) prescribing guidelines for all prescription drugs; and (viii)
22 specialty care referrals for pain, mental health and substance abuse
23 disorders. In developing the content areas, curricula, and outcomes
24 measurement methods for such coursework or training, the work group may
25 also include instruction substantially similar to the courses described
26 in the federal Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 relating to the
27 treatment and management of opioid-addicted patients. The work group
28 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, develop the coursework or
29 training in such a manner that it shall qualify for credit in connection
30 with existing continuing medical education requirements for prescribers.
31 The coursework or training developed by the work group may be structured
32 as one course or as multiple courses. The work group shall complete the
33 development of the content areas, curricula, and outcomes measurements
34 methods within twelve months of the effective date of this section.
35 (c) Upon completion of the development of the coursework or training,
36 the office of the professions shall take actions necessary to obtain
37 accreditation of such coursework or training by the accreditation coun-
38 cil for continuing medical education or its designees. The office of the
39 professions may take such actions for accreditation on its own or in
40 collaboration with one or more statewide medical associations, specialty
41 medical boards, and/or state university medical schools.
42 3. The coursework or training developed by the work group may be
43 provided by: (a) the department; (b) the department in collaboration
44 with one or more statewide medical associations, specialty medical
45 boards, and/or state university medical schools; and/or (c) any organ-
46 ization that the commissioner determines to be appropriate for the
47 purposes of this section. Such coursework or training may be offered in
48 a classroom setting, through internet-based instruction, or otherwise,
49 as approved by the commissioner.
50 4. (a) In order to satisfy the maintenance of licensure requirements
51 set forth in this section, a prescriber shall complete at least three
52 hours of coursework or training developed by the work group which must
53 include, among other things, instruction on prescription drug addiction;
54 provided however, that a high volume prescriber shall complete at least
55 eight hours of coursework or training developed by the work group which
56 must include, among other things, instruction on the use of opioids for
S. 6771 3
1 the management of chronic pain. Each prescriber and high volume prescri-
2 ber shall complete such coursework prior to his or her next registration
3 or re-registration, but in no event shall such coursework or training be
4 taken less than once every five years. Documentation of course
5 completion shall be provided to the department by a prescriber or high
6 volume prescriber in order to maintain his or her professional license.
7 (b) The department, in consultation with the department of health,
8 shall provide an exemption from the requirements of this section to any
9 prescriber who requests such an exemption and who shows, to the depart-
10 ment's satisfaction, that such prescriber is not subject to the require-
11 ments of this section. The department may, in consultation with the
12 department of health, provide an exemption to other prescribers that
13 demonstrate to the department's satisfaction that such prescriber's use
14 of controlled substances is limited exclusively to use in an operating
15 room or to use in other substantially similar circumstances.
16 5. The maintenance of licensure requirements set forth in this section
17 may also be satisfied by completion of a course or courses similar to
18 the coursework or training developed by the work group provided that
19 such course or courses: (a) are provided by a member board of the Ameri-
20 can board of medical specialties as part of its maintenance of certif-
21 ication process or are provided by any other organization determined by
22 the commissioner to be appropriate for the purposes of this section; (b)
23 satisfy the applicable hour requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of
24 subdivision four of this section; (c) are substantially similar to the
25 coursework or training developed by the work group as determined by the
26 office of the professions; and (d) are approved by the office of the
27 professions.
28 6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any prescriber
29 that is certified by a member board of the American board of medical
30 specialties until such time as such member board has integrated the
31 coursework or training required by this section into such member board's
32 existing maintenance of certification process; provided, however, that
33 the provisions of this section shall apply to such prescribers no later
34 than twenty-four months after this section shall take effect.
35 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
