[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4641 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4641
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 12, 2016
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to
review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and
prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES FOR THE USE OF PRESCRIPTION
OPIOIDS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health
and Human Services; and
(2) the term ``task force'' means the Pain Management Best
Practices Inter-Agency Task Force convened under subsection
(b).
(b) Inter-Agency Task Force.--Not later than December 14, 2018, the
Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the
Secretary of Defense, and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, shall convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-
Agency Task Force to review, modify, and update, as appropriate, best
practices for pain management (including chronic and acute pain) and
prescribing pain medication.
(c) Membership.--The task force shall be comprised of--
(1) representatives of--
(A) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(B) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(C) the Food and Drug Administration;
(D) the Department of Defense;
(E) the Drug Enforcement Administration;
(F) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
(G) the Health Resources and Services
Administration;
(H) the Indian Health Service;
(I) the National Academy of Medicine;
(J) the National Institutes of Health;
(K) the Office of National Drug Control Policy;
(L) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration; and
(M) the Office of Women's Health;
(2) State medical boards;
(3) subject to subsection (e), physicians, dentists, and
nonphysician prescribers;
(4) hospitals;
(5) subject to subsection (e), pharmacists and pharmacies;
(6) first responders;
(7) experts in the fields of pain research and addiction
research;
(8) experts in the fields of adolescent and young adult
addiction research;
(9) representatives of--
(A) pain management professional organizations;
(B) the mental health treatment community;
(C) the addiction treatment and recovery community;
(D) pain advocacy groups;
(E) veteran service organizations; and
(F) groups with expertise on overdose reversal;
(10) a person in recovery from addiction to medication for
chronic pain;
(11) a person in recovery from addiction to medication for
chronic pain, whose addiction began in adolescence or young
adulthood;
(12) a person with chronic pain;
(13) an expert on active duty military, armed forces
personnel, and veteran health and prescription opioid
addiction;
(14) an expert in the field of minority health; and
(15) other stakeholders, as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(d) Condition on Participation on Task Force.--An individual
representing a profession or entity described in paragraph (3) or (5)
of subsection (c) may not serve as a member of the task force unless
such individual--
(1) is currently licensed in a State in which such
individual is practicing (as defined by such State) such
profession (or, in the case of an individual representing an
entity, a State in which the entity is engaged in business);
and
(2) is currently practicing (as defined by such State) such
profession (or, in the case of an individual representing an
entity, the entity is in operation).
(e) Duties.--The task force shall--
(1) not later than 180 days after the date on which the
task force is convened under subsection (b), review, modify,
and update, as appropriate, best practices for pain management
(including chronic and acute pain) and prescribing pain
medication, taking into consideration--
(A) existing pain management research;
(B) research on trends in areas and communities in
which the prescription opioid abuse rate and fatality
rate exceed the national average prescription opioid
abuse rate and fatality rate;
(C) recommendations from relevant conferences and
existing relevant evidence-based guidelines;
(D) ongoing efforts at the State and local levels
and by medical professional organizations to develop
improved pain management strategies, including
consideration of differences within and between classes
of opioids, the availability of opioids with abuse
deterrent technology, and pharmacological,
nonpharmacological, medical device alternatives to
opioids to reduce opioid monotherapy in appropriate
cases and the coordination of information collected
from State prescription drug monitoring programs for
the purpose of preventing the diversion of pain
medication;
(E) ongoing efforts at the Federal, State, and
local levels to examine the potential benefits of
electronic prescribing of opioids, including any public
comments collected in the course of those efforts;
(F) the management of high-risk populations, other
than populations who suffer pain, who--
(i) may use or be prescribed
benzodiazepines, alcohol, and diverted opioids;
or
(ii) receive opioids in the course of
medical care;
(G) the distinct needs of adolescents and young
adults with respect to pain management, pain
medication, substance use disorder, and medication-
assisted treatment;
(H) the 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for
Chronic Pain issued by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention;
(I) the practice of co-prescribing naloxone for
both pain patients receiving chronic opioid therapy and
patients being treated for opioid use disorders;
(J) research that has been, or is being, conducted
or supported by the Federal Government on prevention
of, treatment for, and recovery from substance use by
and substance use disorders among adolescents and young
adults relative to any unique circumstances (including
social and biological circumstances) of adolescents and
young adults that may make adolescent-specific and
young adult-specific treatment protocols necessary,
including any effects that substance use and substance
use disorders may have on brain development and the
implications for treatment and recovery;
(K) Federal non-research programs and activities
that address prevention of, treatment for, and recovery
from substance use by and substance use disorders among
adolescents and young adults, including an assessment
of the effectiveness of such programs and activities
in--
(i) preventing substance use by and
substance use disorders among adolescents and
young adults;
(ii) treating such adolescents and young
adults in a way that accounts for any unique
circumstances faced by adolescents and young
adults; and
(iii) supporting long-term recovery among
adolescents and young adults; and
(L) gaps that have been identified by Federal
officials and experts in Federal efforts relating to
prevention of, treatment for, and recovery from
substance use by and substance use disorders among
adolescents and young adults, including gaps in
research, data collection, and measures to evaluate the
effectiveness of Federal efforts, and the reasons for
such gaps;
(2) solicit and take into consideration public comment on
the practices developed under paragraph (1), amending such best
practices if appropriate;
(3) develop a strategy for disseminating information about
the best practices developed under paragraphs (1) and (2) to
prescribers, pharmacists, State medical boards, educational
institutions that educate prescribers and pharmacists, and
other parties, as the Secretary determines appropriate;
(4) review, modify, and update best practices for pain
management and prescribing pain medication, specifically as it
pertains to physician education and consumer education; and
(5) examine and identify--
(A) the extent of the need for the development of
new pharmacological, nonpharmacological, and medical
device alternatives to opioids;
(B) the current status of research efforts to
develop such alternatives; and
(C) the pharmacological, nonpharmacological, and
medical device alternatives to opioids that are
currently available that could be better utilized.
(f) Consideration of Study Results.--In reviewing, modifying, and
updating, best practices for pain management and prescribing pain
medication, the task force shall take into consideration existing
private sector, State, and local government efforts related to pain
management and prescribing pain medication.
(g) Limitation.--The task force shall not have rulemaking
authority.
(h) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date on which the
task force is convened under subsection (b), the task force shall
submit to Congress a report that includes--
(1) the strategy for disseminating best practices for pain
management (including chronic and acute pain) and prescribing
pain medication, as developed under subsection (e);
(2) the results of a feasibility study on linking the best
practices described in paragraph (1) to receiving and renewing
registrations under section 303(f) of the Controlled Substances
Act (21 U.S.C. 823(f));
(3) recommendations for effectively applying the best
practices described in paragraph (1) to improve prescribing
practices at medical facilities, including medical facilities
of the Veterans Health Administration and Indian Health
Service;
(4) the modified and updated best practices described in
subsection (e)(4); and
(5) the results of the examination and identification
conducted pursuant to subsection (e)(4), and recommendations
regarding--
(A) the development of new pharmacological,
nonpharmacological, and medical device alternatives to
opioids; and
(B) the improved utilization of pharmacological,
nonpharmacological, and medical device alternatives to
opioids that are currently available.
Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 2016.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.