Reference is to Printer's Date 1/10/18-H.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 1 and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Chapter 130, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 44-130-70.
(A) A prescriber acting in good faith
and exercising reasonable care may directly or by standing order
prescribe an opioid antidote to a community distributor for the
purpose of distributing the opioid antidote to:
(1)
a person at risk of experiencing an opiate-related
overdose; or
(2)
a caregiver of a person at risk of experiencing an
opiate-related overdose.
(B) A pharmacist may
dispense an opioid antidote to a community distributor pursuant
to a prescription or standing order issued in accordance with
this section.
(C)(1) A community
distributor acting in good faith may distribute an opioid
antidote:
(a)
obtained pursuant to a written prescription or standing
order issued in accordance with this section; and
(b)
pursuant to a written joint protocol issued by the Board
of Medical Examiners and the Board of Pharmacy.
(2)
Not later than six months after passage of this act, the
Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Pharmacy must issue
a written joint protocol to authorize a community distributor to
distribute an opioid antidote without a patient-specific written
order or prescription to a person at risk of experiencing an
opioid-related overdose or to a caregiver of such a person, and
without the requirement for a pharmacist to dispense the opioid
antidote.
(3)
The Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Pharmacy
must appoint an advisory committee to advise and assist in the
development of the joint protocol for their consideration. The
membership of the committee must include, but not be limited to,
a representative of the Department of Health and Environmental
Control, a representative of the Department of Alcohol and Other
Drug Abuse Services, and health care professionals licensed in
the State.
(4)
For purposes of this subsection, 'caregiver' means a
person who is not at risk of an opioid overdose but who, in the
judgment of the community distributor, may be in a position to
assist another individual during an overdose.
(D) A community
distributor that distributes an opioid antidote in accordance
with the provisions of this section is not as a result of an act
or omission subject to civil or criminal liability."
/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.