BILL NUMBER: S2625
SPONSOR: FERNANDEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation
to enhancing patient access to medication assisted treatment for treat-
ment of opioid disease
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 3331 of public health law by adding a subdivi-
sion that authorizes pharmacists to administer and dispense substances
listed in schedules III, IV, and V for the treatment of opioid use
disorder.
Section 2 amends section 6801 of education law by adding a subdivision
that authorizes pharmacists to prescribe FDA-approved medication
assisted therapy under a non-patient-specific regimen for the treatment
of opioid use disorder.
Section 3 amends subdivision 1 of chapter 206 of public health law by
adding a paragraph that directs the commissioner of health to establish
a statewide protocol for pharmacist prescribing of medication assisted
treatment of opioid use disorder.
Section 4 amends paragraph (e) of subdivision 4 of section 3381 of the
public health by authorizing licensed pharmacists to offer medication
assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
Section 5 amends section 6527 of education law by adding a subdivision
that authorizes licensed physicians to prescribe and order a non-pa-
tient-specific regimen to a licensed pharmacist, for prescribing bupre-
norphine for the care of patients with opioid use disorder.
Section 6 establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
As individuals struggle with substance use disorder, we need an all-
hands-on deck approach to make sure care is accessible throughout New
York State. This bill allows a physician and pharmacist to enter into a
collaborate agreement to increase the number of individuals authorized
to prescribe buprenorphine. The bill allows a physician to provide a
non-patient specific order to the pharmacist for buprenorphine.
The federal government has recently taken steps to increase the avail-
ability of buprenorphine. With the passage of the bipartisan Mainstream-
ing Addiction Treatment Act, Congress removed regulations requiring
potential prescribers to register with the federal government. Buprenor-
phine, one of three medications approved by the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration for the treatment for OUD, reduces the risk of overdose, illicit
opioid use, and the transmission of infectious disease that can accompa-
ny injection drug use. With the registration requirement gone, health
care providers with state and federal authority to prescribe narcotics
can now prescribe buprenorphine.
However, Buprenorphine prescribing remains low, despite the drug's over-
all effectiveness and safety as a treatment for OUD. From 2016 through
2019, 20% of Medicare patients with OUD filled prescriptions for bupre-
norphine, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of
Medicine. Racial disparities also exist in prescribing of the drug, with
white patients being 80% more likely to receive a prescription than
Black patients and 25% more likely to receive a prescription than Latino
patients. Additionally, some office-based practices are hesitant to
accept new patients however pharmacies are the most accessible health
care provider.
States such as Nevada and Rhode Island have authorized physicians to
collaborate with pharmacists to assess patients and if appropriate
prescribe buprenorphine. Specifically in Rhode Island, a pilot study
tracked the experiences of 100 patients who started taking buprenorphine
after visiting a trained pharmacist for their care. Once stabilized on
the medication, 58 patients were randomly assigned to receive either
continued care in the pharmacy or usual care in a clinic or physician's
office. After one month, the patients in the pharmacy care group showed
dramatically higher rates of retention: 25 patients (89%) continued to
receive treatment in the pharmacy compared to five (17%) in the usual
care group. A third of patients in the study identified as Black,
Indigenous, or persons of color, and almost half were without a perma-
nent residence.
With 6,000 pharmacies in New York State, pharmacists are widely accessi-
ble and represent enormous potential to connect patients suffering from
opiate use disorders to highly competent health care professionals and
ongoing care. This legislation is yet another tool to reduce barriers to
care for those who struggle with SUD utilizing the collaboration between
a physician and pharmacist.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: A.6778
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S2625: 3331 public health law, 6801 education law, 206 public health law, 206(1) public health law, 3381 public health law, 3381(4) public health law, 6527 education law