State Member Board Briefs

Abstract

The number of opioid prescriptions in Alabama have fallen for an eighth consecutive year, according to a report released by the American Medical Association on September 8, 2022. Additional data released in the report also showed that: Opioid prescriptions in Alabama decreased 41.6% from 2012–2021. From 2020–2021, opioid prescriptions in the state declined 1.6%, marking the eighth consecutive year the number of opioid prescriptions in Alabama has dropped.The dosage strength of opioid prescriptions fell 52.7% from 2012–2021 and dropped 6.5% between 2020–2021.Prescriptions of naloxone to treat patients at risk of an opioid overdose rose 851% between 2012–2021 and 35.4% from 2020–2021.Physicians and other healthcare professionals accessed the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program more than 5.5 million times in 2021, an increase of three percent from 2020. Healthcare providers who dispense opioids in Alabama must report the information to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to help physicians detect the abuse and misuse of prescriptions.The Medical Association of the State of Alabama was one of the first medical associations in the country to offer a continuing education course to train physicians on safely and effectively prescribing opioids. Since 2009, more than 8,000 prescribers in Alabama have completed the course.“Alabama physicians are advancing the fight against the opioid crisis by continuing to reduce the number and potency of prescribed opioids in our state, and by furthering our education on opioids,” said Dr. Julia Boothe, President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. “While we are making good progress in these areas under a physician’s control, Alabama is in a worsening overdose epidemic due primarily to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which is found in more than 75% of counterfeit pills and other substances. No community is safe from this poison.”Source: Alabama State Medical Board of Medical Examiners and Medical Licensure Commission Announcement, September 8, 2022The Medical Board of California recently took a significant step in updating its Guidelines for Prescribing Controlled Substances, last updated in November 2014. The Board released a draft of its updated guidelines on its website and solicited input from stakeholders at a July 14, 2022, Interested Parties Meeting.After considering all the feedback and incorporating proposed changes from stakeholders where appropriate, the task force and Board staff plan to present the revised guidelines to the Board at a future Board meeting.The Board’s revised guidelines now place the decision of what to prescribe to patients solely on the physician and the needs of the patient. The guidelines highly encourage physicians to document their prescription decisions in the patient’s medical record and keep the records up to date.The guidelines also incorporate legislation such as the mandatory consultation of Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) before prescribing schedule II–IV controlled substances, and the requirement to prescribe all controlled substances, with certain exemptions, electronically.Source: Medical Board of California News, Volume 161, Second Quarter EditionOregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) is a new section housed within the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) Public Health Division’s Center for Health Protection. OPS will implement Ballot Measure 109, which was passed in November 2020 and directs the OHA to license and regulate the manufacturing, transportation, delivery, sale, and purchase of psilocybin products, as well as the provision of psilocybin services.OPS will begin accepting applications for licensure in early 2023. Until then, the section is in a development period, working to build the nation’s first regulatory framework for psilocybin services.Source: Oregon Health Authority websiteVirginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has appointed 5 new members to the Board of Medicine. They are Peter Apel, MD (6th Congressional District), Randy Clements, DPM (Roanoke), Hazem Elariny, MD (8th Congressional District), William Hutchens, MD (11th Congressional District), and Krishna Madiraju, MD (10th Congressional District). The 5 members whose terms have expired and have rotated off the Board are Jim Arnold, DPM, Amanda Barner, MD, Milly Rambhia, MD, Brenda Stokes, MD and Khalique Zahir, MD.The Virginia Board of Medicine has selected Blanton Marchese, Citizen member from Midlothian as President, David Archer, MD, OB/GYN, from Norfolk as Vice-President, and Alvin Edwards, PhD, from Charlottesville as Secretary-Treasurer.Source: Virginia Board of Medicine Board Briefs #94, April 2022