Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act
Yesterday, President Trump signed into law the “Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, or, for short, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.
Chapter 2 of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act empowers pharmacists in the fight against opioid abuse and is appropriately titled as such: Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act (Empowering Pharmacists Act).
The Empowering Pharmacists Act states that within one year of its enactment, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Administer of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Director of the Centers for Disease and Prevention and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance use, shall develop and disseminate materials for pharmacists, health care providers and patients on the following:
- Circumstances under which a pharmacist may decline to fill a prescription for a controlled substance because the pharmacist suspects the prescription is fraudulent, forged or of doubtful questionable, or suspicious origin; and
- Other federal requirements pertaining to declining to ill a prescription under such circumstances, including a partial fill of prescriptions for certain controlled substances.
In developing the programs and materials over the next year, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will seek the input from National, State and local associations, including boards of pharmacy, medical associations, licensing boards, health practitioners and patients.