Directs health care professionals to provide pain-relieving medications to the extent authorized by accepted professional guidelines

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to pain management

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill will protect health care professionals from criminal liability and professional discipline for prescribing and administering pain medication, when they act within accepted professional standards.

Summary of specific provisions

Section one is the Legislative findings and intent. It establishes that appropriate pain management is medically, morally and ethically acceptable even if it indirectly hastens death. Section two of the bill contains sections 2899-a, 2899-b and 2899-c. Section 2899-a establishes that a health care professional shall not be subject to professional discipline or criminal liability when practicing within their lawful scope of practice and in accordance with reasonable standards of care, including acceptable guidelines. Section 2899-b establishes that any failure to comply with all state and federal law, including homicide, promoting, assisting causing or aiding suicide will result in professional or criminal prosecution. Section 2899-c states that this new article applies to all patients with pain, including dying patients, patients with acute pain and patients with chronic pain.

Justification

Many patients in New York State suffer needlessly from debilitating pain, caused by the inadequate treatment of pain. Many health care professionals are unaware of the resources available to relieve chronic and acute pain. Some are unwilling to use those resources because they fear that they will be wrongly subjected to prosecution or professional discipline. Some patients are afraid that their religion requires that they not allow health care professionals to relieve their suffering.

The Catholic Conference, in testimony before the Assembly Health Committee in January, 2005, testified that "suffering without pain relief is neither necessary nor a moral duty. Catholic teaching has long held that it is acceptable to relieve pain by narcotics, even when the result is decreased consciousness and shortening of life and the indirect hastening of death." One purpose of this bill is to assure health care practitioners that when they practice pain management in keeping with this and other reasonable standards of care, they will be safe from criminal liability or professional discipline.

This bill was developed in consultation with leading practitioners and academic experts.

Prior legislative history

2005-06: A.7643 - passed Assembly 2007-08: A.6811-B - passed Assembly; S7749-A (Hannon) - Committed to rules

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act takes effect immediately; except that the provision concerning professional misconduct for failure to adequately prescribe pain-relieving medication would take effect January 1 of the second year after it has becomes law.