Carson City, NV January 19, 2018
Emergency regulations aimed at curbing opioid abuse in Nevada took effect Friday when the Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) filed the regulations with the Secretary of State to comply with Assembly Bill 474 (aka the Controlled Substance Abuse Prevention Act). The emergency regulations provide immediate structure to reporting of overdose or suspected overdose cases to assist with the comprehensive response needed to save Nevadans' lives. These regulations are temporary and will only be effective for 120 days until the permanent regulations can be finalized.
For the permanent regulations, DPBH is asking Nevada businesses that support physicians, physician assistants, nurses, or veterinarians, with 150 or fewer employees to review the regulations and complete a survey about their impacts no later than 5 p.m. on January 24, 2018. To access the regulations and the survey go to prescribe365.nv.gov.
"We are strongly encouraging businesses to review the regulations and complete the survey," DPBH Administrator Amy Roukie said. "The Controlled Substance Abuse Prevention Act went into effect January 1, 2018. While the standard regulatory process will allow for input from interested parties and time to establish procedures and mechanisms for reporting, immediate clarification is needed to assist our medical professionals in complying with the statute."
The Controlled Substance Abuse Prevention Act:
- Prioritizes patient safety and responsibility
- Preserves clinical decision-making
- Promotes the patient-prescriber relationship
- Reduces the amount of inappropriate prescribing
- Prevents addiction to prescription drugs through monitoring and mitigating risk
- Enhances the quality of care for patients with acute and chronic pain
- Avoids the legislation of the practice of medicine by establishing a standard of care
For more information about DPBH, visit http://dpbh.nv.gov/.
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