1. A. Prior to issuing a prescription for an opioid to treat acute or chronic pain, practitioners must provide patient counseling on the following:

   1. 1. The risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid drugs and the dangers of taking opioid drugs with alcohol, benzodiazepines, and other central nervous system depressants;
   2. 2. The reasons why the prescription is necessary;
   3. 3. Alternative treatments that may be available; and

   4. 4. Risks associated with the use of the drugs being prescribed, specifically that opioids are highly addictive, even when taken as prescribed, that there is a risk of developing a physical or psychological dependence on the controlled dangerous substance, and that the risks of taking more opioids than prescribed, or mixing sedatives, benzodiazepines, or alcohol with opioids can result in fatal respiratory depression.

      Such patient counseling shall be documented in the patient's medical record.

2. B. Patient counseling as described in subsection A shall not be a requirement for patients who are (i) in active treatment for cancer, (ii) receiving hospice care from a licensed hospice or palliative care, (iii) residents of a long-term care facility, (iv) being prescribed an opioid in the course of treatment for substance abuse or opioid dependence, or (v) receiving treatment for sickle cell disease.

Statutory Authority

§ 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 41, Issue 2, eff. October 9, 2024.