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Introduced Version - Originating in Committee House Bill 4102 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

WEST virginia legislature

2020 regular session

Originating

House Bill 4102

By Rohrbach, Kessinger, Robinson, Walker, Bartlett, Ellington, Hanna, Hornbuckle, D. Kelly, Mandt, and Pushkin

[Originating in the Committee on Prevention & Treatment of Substance Abuse; Reported on January 9, 2020]

A BILL to amend and reenact §16-46-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to opioid antagonists.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:


ARTICLE 46. ACCESS TO OPIOID ANTAGONISTS ACT.


§16-46-3. Licensed health care providers may prescribe opioid antagonists to initial responders and certain individuals; required educational materials; limited liability.


(a) All licensed health care providers in the course of their professional practice may offer to initial responders a prescription for opioid antagonists, including a standing order, to be used during the course of their professional duties as initial responders.

(b) All licensed health care providers in the course of their professional practice may offer to a person considered by the licensed health care provider to be at risk of experiencing an opiate-related overdose, or to a relative, friend, caregiver or person in a position to assist a person at risk of experiencing an opiate-related overdose, a prescription for an opioid antagonist.

(c) All licensed health care providers who prescribe an opioid antagonist under this section shall provide educational materials to any person or entity receiving such a prescription on opiate-related overdose prevention and treatment programs, as well as materials on administering the prescribed opioid antagonist.

(a) The following individuals may prescribe an opioid antagonist in the manner prescribed by this subsection:

(1) A licensed health care provider acting in good faith and exercising good reasonable care may directly or by standing order prescribe an opioid antagonist to

(A) A person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose or

(B) A family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist a person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose.

(2) A licensed health care provider acting in good faith and exercising reasonable care may directly or by standing order prescribe an opioid antagonist to any governmental or non-governmental organization, including a local health department, a law enforcement agency, or an organization that promotes scientifically proven ways of mitigating health risks associated with substance use disorders and other high risk behaviors, for the purpose of distributing, through its agents, the opioid antagonist, to:

(A) A person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose or

(B) a family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist a person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose.

(b) A pharmacist may dispense an opioid antagonist to a person or organization pursuant to a prescription issued in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.

(c) (1) A governmental or nongovernmental organization, including health department, a law enforcement agency, or organization that promotes scientifically proven ways to mitigate health risk s associated with substance use disorders and other high-risk behaviors may, through its trained agents, distribute an opioid antagonist obtained pursuant to a prescription issued in accordance with this section to:

(A) a person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose or

(B) A family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist a person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose. 

(2) An organization, through its trained agents, shall include with any distribution of an opioid antagonist pursuant to this subsection required education including opioid-related overdose prevention and treatment programs and instruction on how to administer the opioid antagonist. 

(d) A person who receives and an opioid antagonist that was prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) or distributed pursuant to subsection (c) may administer an opioid antagonist to another person if:

(1) The person has a good faith belief that the other person is experiencing a drug-related overdose; and

(2) The person exercises reasonable care in administering the drug to another person.

(e) An individual acting in good faith under the provisions of this section are immune from civil or criminal liability.

(f) A person may possess an opioid antagonist, regardless of whether the person holds a prescription for the opioid antagonist.  

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to update and clarify who may prescribe, dispense, obtain and possess an opioid antagonist.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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