privileges, either.
The proposal needs to be accepted by a Joint Committee of the state legislature.
Those two items had been the hallmark of the pain management regulation legislation when it was conceived, and the changes would make it easier for pain management clinics to operate, according to critics of the Board’s proposal.
At its July meeting the State Medical Board considered the comments and testimony received at the June 24 public hearing and revised the wording of proposed permanent rule 4731-29-01,
standards and procedures for the
operation of a pain management clinic.
The revisions include the following:
• The addition of definitions to clarify certain terms used within the rule;
• The addition of provisions to reflect the changes in the definition of a pain management clinic that were made in the budged bill (H.B. 153);
• The deletion of the requirement that physicians providing care at a pain management clinic hold specified professional credentials;
• The deletion of the requirement that the owners of and the physicians providing medical services at a pain management clinic hold hospital privileges;
• The addition of disciplinary actions involving dangerous drugs to the licensure actions that prohibit a physician from owning or providing care at a pain management clinic;
• The addition of a requirement that physician owners of and physician providers at a pain management clinic complete continuing medical education in pain medicine, to include one or more courses addressing the potential for addiction;
• The addition of a requirement that owners of a pain management clinic hold specified professional credentials
“House Bill 93 gave the Medical Board the authority to create rules and definitions and these codes of conduct for these pain clinics,” said nurse Lisa Roberts of the Scioto County Prescription Drug Action Team. “They were then allowed to create these rules and they did kind of water them down. I’m disappointed in them.”
Roberts says she believes the State Medical Board might have been influenced by the Ohio State Medical Association. However, on the Ohio State Medical Association website, HB 93 is described as giving “the Medical and Pharmacy Boards and law enforcement the necessary tools to crack down on pill mills and rogue prescribers that are attributing to the death of four Ohioans a day.”
The Medical Board’s revision will be brought before the Joint Committee for Agency Rule Review on Aug. 1. That is the legislative committee composed of members of the Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives. If the proposed revised rule clears JCARR, the Medical Board will hold a special meeting at noon Aug. 18 to officially adopt the rule. The estimated effective date of that rule is Aug. 31.
“My legislative intent in the passing of House Bill 93 and having it signed into law was to have a devastating impact on illicit pill mills; to dry up the supply of illicit narcotics on the street and decrease the number of deaths to as close to zero as possible; to decrease the number of pills on the street that people are committing crimes for,” said State Rep. Dr. Terry Johnson, co-sponsor of the bill. “Anything that the Pharmacy Board or the Medical Board does that takes us away from that goal, I’ll fight against. But it must be clear — the Pharmacy Board and the Medical Board write the rules with input from the medical community and patients all over the state.”
Gov. John Kasich’s office says he is aware of the recommendations and does not believe the recommendations gut the legislation. A staff member was to call the Times’ office and explain, but that call did not come Wednesday. There was no response from a call to the office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, either.
FRANK LEWIS may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232, or flewis@heartlandpublications.com.
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