The Oregon Caregiver Fall/Winter 2016

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The Oregon Caregiver Fall/Winter 2016 20
Legal & Regulatory
According to the U.S. Center for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), opioid analgesics, such as
oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone,
are involved in three of every four
pharmaceutical overdose deaths. Concern
about opioid use has resulted in action
on both the national and state level. As
both Congress and the Oregon legislature
look for ways to prevent opioid abuse, it is
worthy of note that a recent study by the
journal JAMA Surgery found that only
0.5 percent of seniors who were given
opioids after surgery abused the drugs.
CDC Guideline for Prescribing
Opioids for Chronic Pain
In March of this year, the CDC
developed and published guidelines that
provide recommendations for prescribing
opioid pain medication for patients
18 and older in primary care settings.
The recommendations address clinical
practice and focus on determining when
to initiate or continue opioids, opioid
selection, dosage, duration, follow up and
discontinuation, and assessing risk and
addressing harms of opioids use. Notably,
the guidelines apply to primary care and
do not include opioid prescribing for
active cancer treatment, palliative care,
and end of life care. To view the complete
guidelines, visit /
volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm.
New Federal Law
After congressional consideration, the
President signed the Comprehensive
Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) in
July. CARA establishes an interagency
taskforce to consider best opioid practices,
provides grants for community-wide
abuse prevention strategies, expands drug
take back programs, increases availability
of Naloxone (used to reverse effects of
opioids), and promotes education and
treatment programs.
Oregon Activity
Oregon has convened a taskforce to
develop statewide opioid prescribing
guidelines. In June of this year this task
Developments in
Opioid Law and Policy
By Gwen Dayton, J.D., Oregon Health Care Association
force, the Oregon Opioid Prescribing
Guidelines Task Force, adopted the
CDC guidelines referenced above. While
not mandatory, the CDC guidelines
now serve as the foundation for opioid
prescribing in Oregon.
Earlier this year, the Oregon legislature
also passed HB 4124, which allows
information from the Prescription Drug
Monitoring Database to be seen in the
prescriber’s existing health information
technology system without additional
logins. The bill also allows pharmacists
to prescribe and dispense naloxone.
Since 2011, Oregon has offered the Oregon
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
This program is a web-based system
that contains information on narcotic
prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies
to patients or residents. It is accessible by
healthcare providers who are licensed to
prescribe drugs pharmacists and their
staff and is a useful tool to determine
if a patient or resident has an existing
prescription for opioids and to better
manage their prescriptions. 
For more information on opioid regulatory and policy issues,
please contact Gwen Dayton, J.D., OHCA General Counsel
and Exec. VP. at 503-726-5229.
A recent study by JAMA
Surgery found that only
of seniors
who were
given opioids after surgery
abused the drugs.
0.5%