The state Senate Thursday unanimously approved legislation that would limit opioid prescriptions to seven days for first-time users and minors, instruct schools to screen students for drug abuse, and require hospitals to evaluate emergency room patients who seem to have overdosed and then offer them substance abuse treatment.
Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to sign the bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday and takes a preventive and education-based approach to the state’s deadly opioid addiction crisis.
“Last year we focused on treatment,” Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said Thursday. “With this bill we’re focusing on prevention, training and education. We’re trying to get fewer pills on the street by working with doctors, pharmacies, medical schools to reduce the number of pills being prescribed.”
The bill would limit doctors from prescribing more than seven days worth for first-time opioid users and minors, with exceptions for cancer, palliative care and other chronic pain management. It would also allow patients to indicate that they would like a prescription to be only partially filled.
Under the bill, Massachusetts schools would be required to screen students for drug abuse in two grade levels, not yet determined. Students and guardians could opt out of the screening.
The legislation also outlines 24-hour substance abuse evaluation protocol for hospitals, which would ensure that patients who enter an emergency room suffering from an overdose are evaluated and educated about potential treatment options. And it would establish a drug stewardship program to reduce the amount of unused medication left on the streets.
“It’s a great bill — thoughtful, comprehensive, and really addresses addiction from the hospital to community care,” Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivansaid Thursday.
Sullivan said his office has emphasized combating over-prescription and worked to move unused pills out of people’s medicine cabinets, areas he said the legislation fully addresses.
Hampshire County had 20 unintentional opioid overdose deaths in 2014, according to state Department of Public Health data.
“There’s no question that if you can prevent the problem that’s a lot better than trying to treat the problem,” Rosenberg said. “Once someone becomes addicted, it’s lifelong. It doesn’t go away. You have to manage it and live with it for the rest of your life.”
Stephanie McFeeters can be reached at smcfeeters@gazettenet.com.