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On March 27, West Virginia’s governor signed into law Senate Bill 273, comprehensive legislation addressing opioid prescribing and related treatment. The most notable provisions in this bill establish opioid prescribing limits and prescriber requirements for initial, subsequent and ongoing treatment.
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Indiana Senate Bill 369 was recently signed into law. This new law requires implementation of a workers’ compensation drug formulary based on the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) Workers' Compensation Drug Formulary Appendix A, effective initially January 1, 2019.
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On March 19 the Florida Governor signed into law, legislation containing numerous provisions aimed at curbing and controlling the opioid crisis in Florida. This legislation, House Bill 21, includes several provisions called for, and supported by the Governor since efforts to address opioids failed in 2017, and is seen as a first step for Florida against the opioid scourge.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to health care professionals and is urging consumers to stop using sterile products, including opioid products and other medications intended for sterile injection, produced by Cantrell Drug Company in Little Rock, Arkansas. According to the FDA, they are “concerned about serious deficiencies in Cantrell’s compounding operations, including its processes to ensure quality and sterility assurance that put patient safety at risk.” If compounded injectable products are not sterile and are prepared in non-sterile environments, administering the medications to patients can result in serious, possibly life-threatening infections.