Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015

To reduce opioid misuse and abuse. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 2. Pilot project (a) In general The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act as the Secretary PDMP (b) Methodology The recipients of a grant under this section shall develop a systematic, standardized methodology to identify and investigate questionable or inappropriate prescribing and dispensing patterns of substances on schedule II or III under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act ( 21 U.S.C. 812 (c) Requirements A State receiving a grant under this section— (1) with respect to controlled substances for which a prescriber is required to be registered with by the Drug Enforcement Administration in order to prescribe such controlled substances, shall make the information with respect to such controlled substances from the PDMP available to State regulators and licensing boards; and (2) with respect to any other controlled substances, may make the information with respect to such controlled substances from the PDMP available to State regulators and licensing boards. (d) Subgrantees A quality improvement organization with which the Secretary has entered into a contract under part B of title XI of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1320c et seq. 3. Prescription drug, heroin, and other controlled substance abuse prevention Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 280g 399V–6. Prescription drug, heroin, and other controlled substance abuse prevention (a) Training grants (1) In general The Secretary shall award 5-year grants to eligible entities to facilitate training in order to increase the capacity of health care providers to conduct patient screening, brief interventions, and referral to treatment as needed, such as in health care settings to prevent the abuse of prescription drugs, heroin, and other controlled substances. The grant program under this section may be coordinated with the Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment grant program of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or other appropriate programs. (2) Eligible entities In this subsection, the term eligible entity (A) States; (B) physician organizations; (C) continuing education entities, such as health profession boards or health accrediting bodies; (D) peer recovery organizations; and (E) other appropriate health or professional education organizations or institutions. (b) Expansion of prescribing authority The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall award grants to States for the purpose of evaluating the prospect of the health professions board of such States reviewing and expanding prescribing authorities of providers, such as advance practice nurses and physician's assistants, with respect to prescribing drugs for the treatment of the abuse of prescription drugs, heroin, or other controlled substances. . 4. Prescription drug abuse training and screening programs (a) Continuing education grants The Secretary shall award grants to States to develop continuing education criteria and review processes that allow State health profession boards or State agencies to certify appropriate education and training for informed and safe prescribing of opioids and other drugs listed on schedule II or III under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act ( 21 U.S.C. 812 (b) Screening program The Attorney General shall request that a practitioner registered under section 303(f) of the Controlled Substances Act ( 21 U.S.C. 823(f) 21 U.S.C. 812 5. FDA review of naloxone The Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall conduct a review of naloxone to consider whether naloxone should cease to be subject to section 503(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 353(b) 6. Prescription drug disposal The Secretary shall convene or coordinate with an existing entity an interagency working group— (1) to encourage States and local governments to increase opportunities for disposal of opiates, such as frequent take-back programs (2) to reduce opportunities for abuse of opiates, such as establishing opioid dispensing limits at hospital emergency departments. 7. GAO report The Comptroller General of the United States shall— (1) review opioid abuse programs, heroin abuse programs, and policies in Federal agencies and best practices with respect to opioid and heroin abuse and overdose programs of the States; and (2) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, issue a report to Congress on its findings and recommendations on ways to reduce opioid and heroin abuse and overdoses.

Summary: Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to states to develop a peer review process to identify and investigate questionable or inappropriate prescribing and dispensing patterns of drugs classified as schedule II or III under the Controlled Substances Act, which are drugs with an accepted medical use that have the potential to be abused and addictive. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require HHS to establish grant programs to: (1) facilitate training to increase the capacity of health care providers to screen and treat patients to prevent drug abuse, and (2) develop continuing education criteria that allow health profession boards or state agencies to certify appropriate education for safe prescribing of schedule II or III drugs. The Health Resources and Services Administration must award grants to evaluate the prospect of state health professions boards expanding the authority of providers to prescribe drugs to treat drug abuse. The Drug Enforcement Administration must request that practitioners registered to dispense controlled substances screen patients for potential drug abuse before prescribing a schedule II or III drug. The Food and Drug Administration must consider whether naloxone (a prescription drug used to rapidly reverse an overdose of heroin or other opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium) should be available without a prescription. HHS must convene or coordinate with an interagency working group to encourage states and local governments to increase opportunities for disposal of opiates (drugs derived from opium) and to reduce opportunities for abuse of opiates. The Government Accountability Office must review federal opioid abuse activities and make recommendations to reduce opioid abuse and overdoses.