Title: Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances Act
This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to require a practitioner (other than a hospital, pharmacy, or veterinarian) to complete training, as a condition of obtaining or renewing a registration to dispense or conduct research with controlled substances in schedule II, III, IV, or V. The training must meet certain requirements, including providing information on best practices for pain management and responsible prescribing of pain medications.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration must establish a training module that meets the requirements.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1554 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1554

  To require certain practitioners authorized to prescribe controlled 
              substances to complete continuing education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 13, 2017

 Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Manchin, 
and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require certain practitioners authorized to prescribe controlled 
              substances to complete continuing education.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safer Prescribing of Controlled 
Substances Act''.

SEC. 2. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN PRACTITIONERS 
              PRESCRIBING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.

    Section 303 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (f), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``The Attorney General shall register'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to subsection (j), the Attorney General 
        shall register'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
    ``(j)(1) In this subsection, the term `covered practitioner' means 
a practitioner that is not a hospital, pharmacy, or veterinarian.
    ``(2) As a condition of granting or renewing the registration of a 
covered practitioner under this part to dispense, or conduct research 
with, controlled substances in schedule II, III, IV, or V, the Attorney 
General shall require the covered practitioner to complete training 
(through classroom situations, seminars at professional society 
meetings, electronic communications, or otherwise) that the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services determines meets the requirements under 
paragraph (3).
    ``(3) The training provided for purposes of paragraph (2) shall, at 
a minimum, expose covered practitioners to--
            ``(A) best practices for pain management, including 
        alternatives to prescribing controlled substances and other 
        alternative therapies to decrease the use of opioids;
            ``(B) responsible prescribing of pain medications, as 
        described in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain;
            ``(C) methods for diagnosing, treating, and managing a 
        substance use disorder, including the use of medications 
        approved by the Food and Drug Administration and evidence-based 
        nonpharmacological therapies;
            ``(D) linking patients to evidence-based treatment for 
        substance use disorders; and
            ``(E) tools to manage adherence and diversion of controlled 
        substances, including prescription drug monitoring programs, 
        drug screening, informed consent, overdose education, and the 
        use of opioid overdose antagonists.
    ``(4) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
shall establish or support the establishment of not less than 1 
training module that meets the requirements under paragraph (3) that is 
provided--
            ``(A) to any covered practitioner registered or applying 
        for a registration under this part to dispense, or conduct 
        research with, controlled substances in schedule II, III, IV, 
        or V;
            ``(B) online; and
            ``(C) free of charge.
    ``(5) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish, 
maintain, and periodically update a publically available database 
providing information relating to training modules that meet the 
requirements under paragraph (3).
    ``(6) Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of the 
Safer Prescribing of Controlled Substances Act, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall evaluate and make publically available a 
report describing how exposure to the training required under this 
subsection has changed prescribing patterns of controlled 
substances.''.
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