I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5009 

To include information concerning a patient’s opioid addiction in certain 

medical records. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2018 

Mr. WALBERG (for himself, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia, 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. MACARTHUR, Mrs. HARTZLER, 

and Mr. LATTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To include information concerning a patient’s opioid 

addiction in certain medical records. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Jessie’s Law’’. 

5 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF OPIOID ADDICTION HISTORY IN PA6 TIENT RECORDS. 

7 (a) BEST PRACTICES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5009 IH

1 Health and Human Services, in consultation with 

2 appropriate stakeholders, including a patient with a 

3 history of opioid use disorder, an expert in electronic 

4 health records, an expert in the confidentiality of pa5 tient health information and records, and a health 

6 care provider, shall identify or facilitate the develop7 ment of best practices regarding— 

8 (A) the circumstances under which infor9 mation that a patient has provided to a health 

10 care provider regarding such patient’s history of 

11 opioid use disorder should, only at the patient’s 

12 request, be prominently displayed in the med13 ical records (including electronic health records) 

14 of such patient; 

15 (B) what constitutes the patient’s request 

16 for the purpose described in subparagraph (A); 

17 and 

18 (C) the process and methods by which the 

19 information should be so displayed. 

20 (2) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall dis21 seminate the best practices developed under para22 graph (1) to health care providers and State agen23 cies. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In identifying or facilitating 

25 the development of best practices under subsection (a), as 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5009 IH

1 applicable, the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate 

2 stakeholders, shall consider the following: 

3 (1) The potential for addiction relapse or over4 dose, including overdose death, when opioid medica5 tions are prescribed to a patient recovering from 

6 opioid use disorder. 

7 (2) The benefits of displaying information 

8 about a patient’s opioid use disorder history in a 

9 manner similar to other potentially lethal medical 

10 concerns, including drug allergies and contraindica11 tions. 

12 (3) The importance of prominently displaying 

13 information about a patient’s opioid use disorder 

14 when a physician or medical professional is pre15 scribing medication, including methods for avoiding 

16 alert fatigue in providers. 

17 (4) The importance of a variety of appropriate 

18 medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, 

19 and pharmacists, to have access to information de20 scribed in this section when prescribing or dis21 pensing opioid medication, consistent with Federal 

22 and State laws and regulations. 

23 (5) The importance of protecting patient pri24 vacy, including the requirements related to consent 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5009 IH

1 for disclosure of substance use disorder information 

2 under all applicable laws and regulations. 

3 (6) All applicable Federal and State laws and 

4 regulations. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS