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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 144D.1 SHORT TITLE.
1 2 This chapter shall be cited as the "Intractable Pain
1 3 Treatment Act".
1 4 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 144D.2 DEFINITIONS.
1 5 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
1 6 requires:
1 7 1. "Board" means the board of medical examiners
1 8 established in chapter 147.
1 9 2. "Intractable pain" means a state of pain in which the
1 10 cause of pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated and which
1 11 in the generally accepted course of medical practice no relief
1 12 or cure of the cause of the pain is possible or none has been
1 13 found after reasonable efforts that have been documented in
1 14 the patient's medical records by the patient's physician.
1 15 3. "Physician" means a physician licensed to practice
1 16 medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or
1 17 osteopathy.
1 18 4. "Therapeutic purpose" means the use of controlled
1 19 substances in acceptable doses with appropriate indication for
1 20 the treatment of pain. Any other use is nontherapeutic.
1 21 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 144D.3 REQUIREMENTS
1 22 1. A physician may prescribe, administer or dispense
1 23 controlled substances for a therapeutic purpose to a patient
1 24 diagnosed and treated by a physician for a condition resulting
1 25 in intractable pain, if such diagnosis and treatment has been
1 26 documented in the patient's medical records by the patient's
1 27 physician.
1 28 2. A physician shall not be subject to disciplinary action
1 29 by the board solely for prescribing, administering, or
1 30 dispensing controlled substances when prescribed,
1 31 administered, or dispensed for a therapeutic purpose for a
1 32 patient diagnosed and treated by a physician for a condition
1 33 resulting in intractable pain, if such diagnosis and treatment
1 34 has been documented in the patient's medical records by the
1 35 patient's physician.
2 1 3. Subsections 1 and 2 shall not apply to those persons
2 2 being treated by a physician for chemical dependency because
2 3 of their use of controlled substances not related to the
2 4 therapeutic purpose of treatment of intractable pain. A
2 5 physician shall not prescribe, administer, or dispense
2 6 controlled substances to a person the physician knows or
2 7 should know to be using controlled substances, which use is
2 8 not related to a therapeutic purpose. Chemical dependency, or
2 9 the possibility of chemical dependency, is not, however, in
2 10 and of itself a reason to withhold or prohibit the
2 11 prescribing, administering, or dispensing of controlled
2 12 substances for the therapeutic purpose of treatment of a
2 13 person for intractable pain, nor shall dependency relating
2 14 solely to such prescribing, administering, or dispensing
2 15 subject a physician to disciplinary action by the board.
2 16 4. This section does not deny the right of the board to
2 17 deny, revoke, or suspend the license of a physician or
2 18 otherwise discipline a physician who does any of the
2 19 following:
2 20 a. Prescribes, administers, or dispenses a controlled
2 21 substance that is nontherapeutic in nature or nontherapeutic
2 22 in the manner in which it is prescribed, administered, or
2 23 dispensed, or fails to keep complete and accurate ongoing
2 24 records of the diagnosis and treatment plan.
2 25 b. Writes false or fictitious prescriptions for controlled
2 26 substances listed in chapter 124 or the federal Comprehensive
2 27 Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, 21 U.S.C. }
2 28 801, et seq.
2 29 c. Prescribes, administers, or dispenses in a manner which
2 30 is inconsistent with the provisions of chapter 124 or the
2 31 federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of
2 32 1970, 21 U.S.C. } 801, et seq.
2 33 EXPLANATION
2 34 This bill provides that a physician licensed and regulated
2 35 pursuant to chapter 147, 148, 150, or 150A may prescribe,
3 1 administer, or dispense controlled substances for treatment of
3 2 intractable pain. The bill defines intractable pain as a
3 3 state of pain in which the cause of the pain cannot be
3 4 discovered, removed, cured, or otherwise treated or relieved
3 5 in the generally accepted course of medical practice. The
3 6 bill provides that a physician shall not be subject to
3 7 disciplinary action by the board of medical examiners solely
3 8 for prescribing, administering, or dispensing controlled
3 9 substances for a therapeutic purpose to a person diagnosed and
3 10 treated for a condition resulting in intractable pain, if such
3 11 a diagnosis and treatment has been documented in the patient's
3 12 medical records by the patient's physician. The bill provides
3 13 that these provisions shall not apply to cases involving
3 14 individuals being treated for chemical dependency because of
3 15 their use of controlled substances not related to the
3 16 therapeutic purpose of treatment of intractable pain. The
3 17 bill additionally provides that the board retains the ability
3 18 to deny, revoke, or suspend the license of, or otherwise
3 19 discipline, any physician who prescribes, administers, or
3 20 dispenses a controlled substance that is nontherapeutic in
3 21 nature or in the manner prescribed, administered, or
3 22 dispensed. Board regulatory authority also applies to
3 23 physicians who fail to keep diagnosis, treatment plan, and
3 24 controlled substance administration records, or who write
3 25 false or fictitious prescriptions for controlled substances,
3 26 or prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances in
3 27 a manner inconsistent with the provisions of chapter 124 or
3 28 the federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control
3 29 Act of 1970.
3 30 LSB 2131XS 77
3 31 rn/jw/5
Text: SF00383 Text: SF00385 Text: SF00300 - SF00399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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