2023 New York Laws › PBH - Public Health › Article 33 - Controlled Substances › Title 1 - General Provisions › 3309 - Opioid Overdose Prevention.

§  3309. Opioid overdose prevention. 1. The commissioner is authorized
to establish standards for approval of any  opioid  overdose  prevention
program,  and  opioid  antagonist prescribing, dispensing, distribution,
possession  and  administration  pursuant  to  this  section  which  may
include,  but  not  be  limited  to,  standards  for  program directors,
appropriate clinical oversight, training, record keeping and reporting.
2. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of  section  sixty-five
hundred  twelve  of  the  education  law or any other law, the purchase,
acquisition, possession or use of an opioid antagonist pursuant to  this
section  shall  not  constitute the unlawful practice of a profession or
other violation under title eight of the education law or this article.
3. (a) As used in this section:
(i) "Opioid antagonist" means a drug approved by  the  Food  and  Drug
Administration  that, when administered, negates or neutralizes in whole
or in part the pharmacological effects of an opioid in the body. "Opioid
antagonist" shall be limited to naloxone and other medications  approved
by the department for such purpose.
(ii) "Health care professional" means a person licensed, registered or
authorized  pursuant  to  title  eight of the education law to prescribe
prescription drugs.
(iii) "Pharmacist" means a person licensed or authorized  to  practice
pharmacy  pursuant  to article one hundred thirty-seven of the education
law.
(iv) "Opioid antagonist recipient" or "recipient" means  a  person  at
risk  of  experiencing  an  opioid-related overdose, or a family member,
friend or other person in a position to assist a person experiencing  or
at  risk  of experiencing an opioid-related overdose, or an organization
registered as an opioid overdose prevention  program  pursuant  to  this
section  or any person or entity or any person employed by the person or
entity.
(v) As used in this section, "entity" includes, but is not limited to,
a school district, public  library,  board  of  cooperative  educational
services,  county  vocational  education  and  extension  board, charter
school, non-public elementary  or  secondary  school,  restaurant,  bar,
retail  store,  shopping  mall,  barber  shop,  beauty  parlor, theater,
sporting or event center, inn, hotel or motel.
(vi) "Nightlife establishment" means an establishment that is open  to
the public for entertainment or leisure, serves alcohol or where alcohol
is  consumed on the premises, and conducts a large volume of business at
night. Such term includes, but is not limited  to,  bars,  entertainment
venues, clubs and restaurants.
(b)(i)  A health care professional may prescribe by a patient-specific
or non-patient-specific prescription, dispense or  distribute,  directly
or indirectly, an opioid antagonist to an opioid antagonist recipient.
(ii)  A  pharmacist  may  dispense  an  opioid  antagonist,  through a
patient-specific or non-patient-specific prescription pursuant  to  this
paragraph, to an opioid antagonist recipient.
(iii)  An opioid antagonist recipient may possess an opioid antagonist
obtained  pursuant  to  this  paragraph,  may  distribute  such   opioid
antagonist  to a recipient, and may administer such opioid antagonist to
a person the recipient reasonably believes  is  experiencing  an  opioid
overdose.
(iv) The provisions of this paragraph shall not be deemed to require a
prescription for any opioid antagonist that does not otherwise require a
prescription;  nor shall it be deemed to limit the authority of a health
care  professional  to  prescribe,  dispense  or  distribute,  or  of  a
pharmacist  to  dispense, an opioid antagonist under any other provision
of law.
(v) Any pharmacy with twenty or more locations  in  the  state,  shall
either:  (1) pursue or maintain a non-patient-specific prescription with
an authorized health care professional to dispense an opioid  antagonist
to  a  consumer  upon  request,  as  authorized  by this section; or (2)
register with the department as an opioid overdose prevention program.
3-a. Any distribution of opioid antagonists through this program shall
include  an informational card or sheet. The informational card or sheet
shall include, at a minimum, information on:
(a) how to recognize symptoms of an opioid overdose;
(b) steps  to  take  prior  to  and  after  an  opioid  antagonist  is
administered, including calling first responders;
(c)  the  number  for  the  toll free office of addiction services and
supports' HOPE line;
(d) how to access the  office  of  addiction  services  and  supports'
website;
(e)  the application of good samaritan protections provided in section
three thousand-a of this chapter; and
(f) any other information deemed relevant by the commissioner.
The educational card shall be provided in languages other than English
as deemed appropriate by the commissioner.  The  department  shall  make
such  informational  cards  available  to the opioid overdose prevention
programs.
4. (a) Use of an opioid antagonist pursuant to this section  shall  be
considered  first  aid  or  emergency  treatment  for the purpose of any
statute relating to liability.
(b) A recipient, opioid overdose prevention program, person or entity,
or any person employed by the person or entity, acting reasonably and in
good faith in compliance with this section,  shall  not  be  subject  to
criminal,  civil  or  administrative  liability solely by reason of such
action.
5.  The  commissioner  shall  publish  findings  on  statewide  opioid
overdose data that reviews overdose death rates and other information to
ascertain  changes in the cause and rates of opioid overdoses, including
fatal opioid overdoses. The report shall be submitted  annually,  on  or
before  October  first,  to the governor, the temporary president of the
senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs  of  the  senate  and
assembly health committees, and shall be made public on the department's
internet  website. The report shall include, at a minimum, the following
information on a county basis:
(a) information  on  opioid  overdoses  and  opioid  overdose  deaths,
including age, gender, ethnicity, and geographic location;
(b)  data  on  emergency  room utilization for the treatment of opioid
overdose;
(c) data on utilization of pre-hospital services;
(d) data on the dispensing and utilization of opioid antagonists; and
(e) any other information necessary to ascertain the  success  of  the
program,  areas  of  the  state which are experiencing particularly high
rates of  overdoses,  ways  to  determine  if  services,  resources  and
responses  in particular areas of the state are having a positive impact
on reducing overdoses, and ways to further reduce overdoses.
* 6. The commissioner shall provide the current information  and  data
specified  by  each  type  of  drug  included  in the report required by
subdivision five of this section to each county every three months.  The
office  of  addiction  services  and  supports  website  shall include a
hyperlink to such information and data which may be utilized by a county
or any combination thereof as it works to address the opioid epidemic.
* NB Repealed March 31, 2027
7. With the first prescription to a particular patient of an opioid of
each year for use in a setting other than a general hospital or  nursing
home  under  article  twenty-eight  of  this  chapter  or facility under
article thirty-one of the mental hygiene law, or when a practitioner  is
prescribing  a  controlled  substance  to  a  patient  under the care of
hospice as defined by section four thousand two  of  this  chapter,  the
prescriber  shall  prescribe  an  opioid  antagonist  when  any  of  the
following risk factors are present:  (a)  a  history  of  substance  use
disorder;  (b)  high  dose  or  cumulative  prescriptions that result in
ninety morphine milligram equivalents or higher per day; (c)  concurrent
use   of   opioids  and  benzodiazepine  or  nonbenzodiazepine  sedative
hypnotics.
8. The commissioner  shall  establish  guidelines  for  onsite  opioid
overdose response capacity in nightlife establishments.