House passes opioid bills package

6/25/2018
The House of Representatives recently passed a legislative package that included the Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act. The passage of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores-backed mandate for electronic prescribing of controlled substances under Medicare Part D joins various other components of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act.

“There is no silver bullet to remedy the opioid epidemic, but the EPCS Act is one of many pieces of opioid legislation that helps curb the causes of the crisis impacting our families, friends and communities,” the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Markwayne Mullin, said. Rep. Katherine Clark, who introduced the bill, said that the legislation would make it harder for prescription forgery to occur and make tracking prescriptions easier.

A January Morning Consult Poll commissioned by NACDS found that 76% of respondents supported rules that require all prescriptions to be handled electronically. NACDS has made e-prescribing a key component of its public policy recommendations for curbing opioid abuse, which also includes compliance programs, drug disposal, increased naloxone access and stopping online drug-sellers, among others.

“NACDS is grateful to Reps. Katherine Clark and Markwayne Mullin for spearheading and championing this important legislation, and we also extend gratitude to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., for their proactive, effective work in advancing a bill that will be part of a solution to a difficult but extremely critical issue,” said NACDS President and CEO Steve Anderson.
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