HARRISBURG – State Senator Gene Yaw (R-23, Williamsport) watched Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf sign Yaw’s opioid bill into law at the State Capital Building this week. Senator Yaw says the new laws to require doctors to know more about pain relief, “Doctors now have to get pain management training as part of their continuing medical education.”
The law also requires people who dispense the drugs to have more training as well, and requires them to check and update the Pennsylvania’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Database (PDMP) each time a patient is prescribed an opioid drug product. The new timeframe is within 24 hours of dispensation, the previous time frame was 72 hours.
Senator Yaw wanted reassures people who need this type of pain management medication should not be worried, “Neither of these bills is intended to interfere with people who legitimately have prescriptions and need prescriptions for opioids. These are the types that are aimed at those who are abusing those types of drugs.”
Yaw said the law limits prescriptions for minors to enough dosage for seven days, unless there is a medical emergency or a chronic pain issue that requires extended pain management. In that case, the prescriber is required to document the medical condition and explain why a non-opioid alternative is not appropropriate to treat the pain.
On the newsline this week, Senator Yaw said exceptions to the law include cases of chronic pain, cancer treatment, or hospice care. (Chris Elio)
