Colorado Medical Society

http://dev.cms.org/articles/bill-creating-seven-day-opioid-prescription-limit-for-acute-pain-signed-int/

Bill creating seven-day opioid prescription limit for acute pain signed into law May 21

Monday, May 21, 2018 06:06 PM

As of Monday, May 21, Colorado joins the many states that limit an initial opioid prescription for some patients, and, for those patients, require physicians to conduct a screening on the state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database (PDMP) on the first refill to reduce the risk of drug-seeking behavior for nonclinical use or abuse. This law is effective IMMEDIATELY and you may need to change your practice habits IMMEDIATELY to stay within the bounds of this law.

The Colorado Medical Society Office of General Counsel has developed a summary and initial FAQ of the new law -- which was referred to in the 2018 Colorado General Assembly as Senate Bill 18-022 -- to help you understand the new law and its requirements. Access this summary resource here. Also see the summary graphic below. We encourage you to share these resources with all those who will be affected by the new law.

CMS-member physicians and public policy leaders worked closely with legislators and the governor’s office to assure exemptions for patients with longer-term pain management needs as well as those in inpatient care, and to assure physicians can continue to use their medical-clinical judgement to determine the requirements’ applications in their patients' cases. CMS successfully persuaded legislators to reject an attempt by plaintiff attorneys to have open access to prescribing report cards -- an important tool that will allow physicians to compare their prescribing to that of their peers. 

Over the past five years, the Colorado Medical Society, our many state medical society colleagues across the United States and individual physicians have made significant progress in reversing a historic pattern of opioid prescription diversion and abuse. This policy is another significant step in that vital effort. 

Watch for more information on SB18-022 in future CMS communications, and thank you for your dedication to Colorado patients and quality health care. Don't hesitate to respond to president@cms.org with your questions or comments.