An Act To Report Limited Information to the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program Concerning Methadone
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1619
Committee: Health and Human Services
Amends: 5 MRSA §20047, 22 MRSA §7249-A, 22 MRSA §7250

Legislative Document
No. 1619
H.P. 1118
House of Representatives, May 23, 2017
An Act To Report Limited Information to the Controlled 
Substances Prescription Monitoring Program Concerning 
Methadone
Reported by Representative HYMANSON of York for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Order 2017, H.P. 946.
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §20047, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3.  Medical emergency; methadone.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, records relating 
to methadone treatment of a patient for the treatment of opioid dependency that have been 
entered into the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program established 
under Title 22, section 7248 may be disclosed in an emergency setting only to the extent 
necessary to meet a bona fide medical emergency in which the patient's prior informed 
consent cannot be obtained and only to the health care professionals involved in treating 
the patient.  Any disclosure of records pursuant to this subsection must be documented as 
described in Title 22, section 7250, subsection 7. 
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §7249-A is enacted to read: 
§7249-A.  Reporting of methadone treatment with consent 
1.  Consent form; methadone treatment.  The department shall develop a consent 
form to be presented to a patient who begins receiving methadone treatment at any 
facility that provides methadone for the treatment of opioid dependency.  The form 
records the patient's identifying information along with consent to enter the name of the 
patient's methadone treatment facility and dosage information into the program. The 
contents of the form may be disclosed only in a medical emergency as described in 
section 7250, subsection 7.  The patient may decline consent. 
2.  Treatment facility to enter information into the program.  For a patient who 
has provided consent pursuant to subsection 1, a prescriber at a facility that provides 
methadone for the treatment of opioid dependency shall enter the patient's identifying 
information along with the name of the methadone treatment facility and the dosage 
information into the program every 90 days.  If a patient ceases treatment or moves to a 
different facility, the patient's methadone treatment facility must notify the program 
within 30 days of such change in status. 
3.  Renewal of consent form.  A facility that provides methadone for the treatment 
of opioid dependency must provide a new consent form under subsection 1 to a patient 
annually and renew that patient's consent.  The patient may choose to decline consent or 
void consent at any time. 
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §7250, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
7.  Disclosure of methadone treatment in a medical emergency; documentation.  
Records entered pursuant to section 7249-A may be disclosed in an emergency setting 
only to the extent necessary to meet a bona fide emergency in which the patient's prior 
informed consent cannot be obtained and only to the health care professionals involved in 
treating the patient.  These records may not be disclosed in any other circumstances, 
including to prescribers using the program to enter or check information outside of the 
medical emergency.  Records disclosed pursuant to this subsection may not be used to 
initiate or substantiate any criminal charges against a patient or to conduct any criminal 
investigation.  Any disclosure pursuant to this subsection is subject to the following 
requirements. 
A.  The disclosure must be documented by the health care professional involved in 
treating the patient and entered into the program and communicated to the patient's 
methadone treatment facility.  The documentation must include the date and time of 
the disclosure, the nature of the patient's emergency, the name of the facility or the 
hospital where the disclosure occurred and the names of the health care professionals 
who accessed the records. 
B.  Any disclosure must include a statement that informs the health care professionals 
accessing the program that federal law prohibits the health care professionals from 
making further disclosures that identify the patient without the specific written 
consent of the patient. 
Sec. 4.  Enhancement of the Controlled Substances Prescription 
Monitoring Program.  The Department of Health and Human Services shall submit a 
request for proposals pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 7248, 
subsection 2 for an enhancement of the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring 
Program under Title 22, chapter 1603. This enhancement must allow a facility that 
provides methadone for the treatment of opioid dependency to enter the name of the 
methadone treatment facility treating a patient and the dosage information for a patient 
who has given consent.  The information may not be accessible except to health care 
professionals during an emergency to the extent necessary to meet a bona fide emergency 
in which the patient's prior informed consent cannot be obtained.  Any disclosure in an 
emergency setting must be entered into the program, including the date and time of the 
disclosure, the nature of the patient's emergency, the name of the facility or hospital 
where the disclosure occurred and the names of the health care professionals who 
accessed the records in the program.  The enhancement of the program must be available 
no later than July 1, 2018 and must meet the requirements of Title 22, section 7250, 
subsection 7. 
Sec. 5.  Contingent effective date.  Those sections of this Act that enact the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 20047, subsection 3, Title 22, section 7249-A 
and Title 22, section 7250, subsection 7 take effect once the enhancement of the 
Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program pursuant to section 4 of this Act 
is implemented.  The Department of Health and Human Services shall notify the Revisor 
of Statutes that section 4 has been implemented. 
Sec. 6.  Consent form.  A facility that provides methadone for the treatment of 
opioid dependency must provide a consent form as described in the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 22, section 7249-A for every patient no later than 180 days after the 
effective date of this Act. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows for the name of a methadone treatment facility and dosage 
information regarding methadone for the treatment of opioid dependency to be entered 
into the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program if a patient has given 
consent to the facility and the information is disclosed only during a medical emergency 
and only to medical personnel involved in treating the patient.  Any disclosure of 
methadone dosage information must be documented in the Controlled Substances 
Prescription Monitoring Program and communicated to the methadone treatment facility.