05/26/2017
New Rules Unveiled for Acute Pain Prescribing
Ohio ACEP expresses concern over limits and additional documentation mandates
Gov. John Kasich held a press conference on March 30 to announce new opioid prescribing rules being rolled out by the Medical Board, Pharmacy Board, Dental Board, and Nursing Board. The new rules are specifically for opioid prescribing for acute pain and would:
- Limit initial prescriptions to 7 days for adults and 5 days for minors;
- Prohibit extended release prescriptions;
- For a prescription lasting longer than the specified limit, additional documentation will be required, including a clinical justification for the extended prescription;
- Require an ICD-10 diagnosis code on the prescription;
- Mandate that the prescriber provide patient with education on opioids.
Most troubling for emergency physicians is the requirement to include the ICD-10 code on prescriptions, which would simply not be possible in the emergency care setting. Ohio ACEP is seeking an exemption to this requirement. Other physician organizations, including the OSMA, have objected to this requirement as well. Ohio ACEP has submitted comments on both the Pharmacy Board rules and the Medical Board rule.
Adoption of the prescribing rules could take months as the rules need to be reviewed by a legislative review panel. As Ohio ACEP continues to advocate for sensible changes to these rules, stay tuned to future editions of the Advocacy Update for the latest developments.