What's happening
This bill updates training requirements for prescribers of certain pain medications to include new standards on addiction, patient-centered care, and overdose prevention.
Why it matters
Expands required training content. Prescribers must now learn not only about pain management and addiction, but also about best practices for patient-centered care, including the impact of social determinants of health (like housing, income, or environment) and co-occurring disorders—addressing the complex realities many patients face.
Focuses on overdose and harm reduction. The updated requirements mandate teaching techniques to reduce the likelihood of overdose and related harms, signaling a shift from just responsible prescribing to active overdose prevention—important as overdoses remain a leading cause of injury-related death.
Promotes access to addiction treatment. Training must now include information about becoming a buprenorphine prescriber, which could increase the number of healthcare providers able to prescribe this key medication for opioid use disorder, potentially expanding access to life-saving treatment for patients with addiction.
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Who cares
Prescribers of controlled substances
Required training for those due to re-register after July 1, 2021, would add overdose and harm-reduction techniques and information on addiction medications, including becoming a buprenorphine prescriber.
Department of Health, State Education Department and Office of Addiction Services and Supports
The health commissioner, consulting with the other agencies, would update training standards and approvals as needed to reflect patient-centered best practices, social determinants of health and co-occurring disorders.
Patients receiving pain management or addiction treatment
The bill would require prescriber training to address reducing overdose and other harms and require training standards to account for patients’ social circumstances and co-occurring disorders.
Headline styles
Improve Pain Med Prescriber Training
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to higher education
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 53–8
- Advanced to third reading
- Amended 7102a
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.173
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Pain Med Prescriber Training
In Assembly Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7102--A Cal. No. 173
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 8, 2020
Introduced by Sens. BENJAMIN, METZGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, amended on second report, ordered to a third reading, and to be reprinted as amended, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to training for prescribers of certain pain medications
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 3309-a of the public health law, as added by section 1 of part A of chapter 71 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
(c) The commissioner, in consultation with the department of education and the office of [alcoholism and substance abuse] addiction services and supports, shall establish standards and review and approve course work or training in pain management, palliative care, and addiction and update such standards and approvals as necessary according to best practices for providing patient centered care with the consideration of social determinants of health and co-occuring disorders and shall publish information related to such standards, course work or training on the department's website.
§ 2. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 3 of section 3309-a of the public health law, as added by section 1 of part A of chapter 71 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
(f) Course work or training shall include, but not be limited to: state and federal requirements for prescribing controlled substances; pain management; appropriate prescribing; managing acute pain; palliative medicine; prevention, screening and signs of [addiction] substance use disorder; responses to abuse and addiction; and end of life care. For each licensed person due to re-register pursuant to this subdivision after July first, two thousand twenty-one, such course work or training shall also include techniques that will reduce the likelihood of over-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14616-03-0
S. 7102--A 2
dose and other harms related to the use of controlled substances and medications used for the treatment of addiction, including information about becoming a buprenorphine prescriber.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed by the department of health in consultation with the state education department and the office of addiction services and supports on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to training for pres- cribers of certain pain medications
Purpose
Updates training for prescribers of controlled substances to include best practices for patient centered care, social determents of health, and co-occurring disorders
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:;
Section 1 of the bill amends paragraph c of subdivision 3 of Section 3309-a of the Public Health Law to require Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the State Education Department, and the Office of Addiction Services and Supports to update the course work or training in pain management, palliative care, and addiction for medical profes- sionals that prescribe controlled substances to include best practices for providing patient centered care in consideration of social determi- nants of health and co-occurring disorders.
Section 2 of the bill amends paragraph f of subdivision 3 of Section 3309-a of the Public Health law to expand the required course work or training for licensed medical professionals that prescribe controlled substances to include techniques that will reduce the likelihood of overdose and other harms related to the use of controlled substances and, medications used for the treatment of addiction, including informa- tion about becoming a buprenorphine prescriber. These new training requirements will take effect for those licensed healthcare providers that are due to re-register after July 1, 2021.
Section 3 of the bill includes the effective date.
Justification
Under current law, every licensed medical professional that holds a federal controlled substance registration from the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Justice Department, or any medical resident who is prescrib- ing for a facility, must take a three hours of course work during each three year registration period on pain management, palliative care, and addiction.
This training has contributed significantly to reductions in the over- prescribing of opioids in New York. However, as the overdose epidemic has progressed and as prescribing practices have evolved, new issues have emerged, as have new strategies for addressing these issues. For example, even as overprescribing decreased, overdoses and deaths contin- ued to rise as a result of addictions to non-prescribed opioids and other controlled substances. Medical professionals can play an essential role in identifying addiction early and, intervening before it worsens.
Separately, because of concerns about the consequences of doctors being overly-aggressive in weaning patients from prescribed opioids, in April 2019, the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an advisory against misapplication of their 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. Additionally, medication assisted treatment is considered the gold standard for treating patients with opioid use disorder. However, a lack of prescribers has limited access to these medications. This training provides an important opportunity to educate prescribers about the use of medications, including buprenorphine, in addressing opioid use disorders, and about the training and waiver requirements that practitioners must complete in order to prescribe buprenorphine to patients with an opioid use disorder. Providing infor- mation on how to become a prescriber of buprenorphine may encourage more medical professionals to obtain the needed waiver, thereby increasing patient access to this lifesaving intervention.
Ensuring that practitioners are aware of current concerns and are educated about the most up-to-date best practices in pain management, palliative care and addiction will maximize the impact of this important training, thereby improving patient health and reducing unnecessary addiction, pain and mortality.
Legislative history
New Bill
Fiscal implications
None to the state.
Effective law
120th day
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.