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- Referred to rules
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S7918
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring baseline and periodic and/or targeting drug testing to be utilized by clinicians prescribing prescription narcotic drugs
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill will require prescribers of narcotic drugs to perform baseline and periodic and/or targeted testing.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. Adds a new subdivision 8 to Section 3331 of the Public Health Law. Requires baseline testing for clinicians prescribing prescription narcotic drugs and periodic and/or targeted testing. Testing must occur before the dispensing of the initial prescription. The clinician shall not issue more than a 4 day supply without first obtaining testing results. Testing shall be conducted at least twice a year. Requires DOH to ensure that drug testing methods are subject to reimbursement.
Section 2. Effective Date.
Justification
The purpose of this testing is to ensure that individuals are taking the prescribed pills as directed, in the doses prescribed, with no other illicit substances. Due to the highly addictive nature of these narcotics, prescribers should be able to conduct testing ensuring compliance with their prescribing practices. Drug testing is a reliable, effective method for determining patient adherence to treatment plans. This method is more accurate than self-reporting and will help reduce on doctor shopping and increase detection of individuals abusing these substances. Confirmatory or quantitative testing methods allow for doctors to identify the specific drug, rather than just the drug class - a vitally important feature. Such testing is also less likely to produce a false positive or negative. For example, an individual who is prescribed buprenorphine but is actually taking oxycodone may show positive for the opiate class in testing.
Typically, urine drug testing requires a initial test and if the results are positive, an additional, more conclusive test is taken. This model of testing is, in the long run, more expensive and less accurate. This bill will provide for more comprehensive initial testing when an individual is prescribed an addictive, narcotic drug.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
Minimal to None.
Effective date
The sixtieth day after it shall become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.