Press Releases
06/05/2019
Consumer Protection Commissioner Applauds Passage of House Bill 7159, An Act Addressing Opioid Use
Wednesday, June 5th 2019 – Today, the Senate passed House Bill 7159, An Act Addressing Opioid Use that makes a number of positive changes to laws that affect prescribers, pharmacists, and wholesalers of controlled substances in Connecticut.
“This bill does a number of things that will allow patients to have more information about their medications, and provides them with the opportunity to have clear steps about how best to manage their prescriptions,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull, “It will also ensure that we have more actionable information about opioids in the state with new reporting requirements for wholesalers and manufacturers, and the ability of pharmacists to utilize designees for their work related to the CPMRS, which we believe will increase use and compliance. I want to thank the Governor’s Office for their leadership on this issue, and our legislature for their thoughtful contributions.”
Among other things, the new law will:
- Require pharmacists to offer counseling to patients regarding their prescriptions. Currently, this is only a requirement for Medicaid patients;
- Allow pharmacists to designate a pharmacy tech to serve as an authorized agent to utilize the CPMRS;
- Mandate that if a wholesaler or drug manufacturer terminates or declines a pharmacy’s business, that they notify DCP;
- Require a practitioner who writes a prescription for an opioid drug for a period longer than 12 weeks to establish a treatment agreement and plan with their patient.
Information about HB 7159 can be found on the Connecticut General Assembly’s website. Those with questions about the new requirements may contact our Drug Control Division at dcp.drugcontrol@ct.gov.
###
Media Contact:
Lora Rae Anderson
lorarae.anderson@ct.gov
(860) 713-6019 (office)
(860) 247-8711 (cell)
- Twitter: DCP on Twitter
- Facebook: DCP on Facebook