IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5041 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To amend the Controlled Substances Act to authorize the 

employees of a hospice program to handle controlled 

substances lawfully in the possession of a deceased hospice patient for the purpose of disposal. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Disposal of Un3 used Medication Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DISPOSAL OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES OF A DE5 CEASED HOSPICE PATIENT BY EMPLOYEES 

6 OF A QUALIFIED HOSPICE PROGRAM. 

7 Subsection (g) of section 302 of the Controlled Sub8 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 822) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5)(A) In the case of a person receiving hospice care, 

11 an employee of a qualified hospice program, acting within 

12 the scope of employment, may handle, without being reg13 istered under this section, any controlled substance that 

14 was lawfully dispensed to the person receiving hospice 

15 care, for the purpose of disposal of the controlled sub16 stance after the death of such person, so long as such dis17 posal occurs onsite in accordance with all applicable Fed18 eral, State, Tribal, and local law. 

19 ‘‘(B) For the purposes of this paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(i) The terms ‘hospice care’ and ‘hospice pro21 gram’ have the meanings given to those terms in 

22 section 1861(dd) of the Social Security Act. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘employee of a qualified hospice 

24 program’ means a physician, nurse, or other person 

25 who— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is employed by, or pursuant to ar2 rangements made by, a qualified hospice pro3 gram; 

4 ‘‘(II)(aa) is licensed to perform medical or 

5 nursing services by the jurisdiction in which the 

6 person receiving hospice care was located; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) is acting within the scope of such 

8 employment in accordance with applicable State 

9 law; and 

10 ‘‘(III) has completed training through the 

11 qualified hospice program regarding the dis12 posal of controlled substances in a secure and 

13 responsible manner so as to discourage abuse, 

14 misuse, or diversion. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘qualified hospice program’ 

16 means a hospice program that— 

17 ‘‘(I) has written policies and procedures for 

18 assisting in the disposal of the controlled sub19 stances of a person receiving hospice care after 

20 the person’s death; 

21 ‘‘(II) at the time when the controlled sub22 stances are first ordered— 

23 ‘‘(aa) provides a copy of the written 

24 policies and procedures to the patient or 

25 patient representative and family; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) discusses the policies and proce2 dures with the patient or representative 

3 and the family in a language and manner 

4 that they understand to ensure that these 

5 parties are educated regarding the safe 

6 disposal of controlled substances; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) documents in the patient’s clin8 ical record that the written policies and 

9 procedures were provided and discussed; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(III) at the time following the disposal of 

12 the controlled substances— 

13 ‘‘(aa) documents in the patient’s clin14 ical record the type of controlled sub15 stance, dosage, route of administration, 

16 and quantity so disposed; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) the time, date, and manner in 

18 which that disposal occurred.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 12, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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