NY State Senate Bill 2025-S6758

Senate Bill S6758

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires practitioners to discuss certain risks with a patient who is being prescribed a controlled substance or an opioid analgesic

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 24, 2025	referred to health

2025-S6758 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§3331 & 3309, Pub Health L

2025-S6758 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires practitioners to discuss certain risks with a patient who is being prescribed a schedule II controlled substance or an opioid analgesic; requires the department of health to develop practitioner guidelines.

2025-S6758 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6758

SPONSOR: FERNANDEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring practi-
tioners to discuss certain risks with a patient who is being prescribed
a controlled substance or an opioid analgesic

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Amends the public health law to better protect the health and safety of
patients undergoing opioid or related schedule II controlled substance
prescription dosage for treatment as well as inform patients of the
side-effects that may result from such use.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds subparagraph (b) to subdivision 9 of section 3331 of the
public health law to specify what must be discussed between patient and
physician regarding the risks associated with the drugs being
prescribed.

Section 2 adds subparagraph (vii) to paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of
section 3309 of the public health law to include the definition of
opioid analgesics.

Section 3 amends subdivision 7 of section 3309 of the public health law,
to clarify language and mandate discussion with the patient on the risks
of overdose.

Section 4 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

When patients are given opioid and other schedule II controlled
substance prescriptions for pain relief, they are often uninformed of
the risks and side-effects associated with the use of aforesaid medica-
tions, such as physical and psychological dependencies and misuse. More-
over, providers frequently neglect providing information of alternative
prescriptions available to them, or why the prescription is necessary to
their well-being. This legislation will help in preventing patients from
being left in the dark regarding the risk management, side effects,
alternative methods, and imperatives of their prescribed medication.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S6758 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6758
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 24, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN  ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring practi-
   tioners  to  discuss  certain  risks  with  a  patient  who  is  being
   prescribed a controlled substance or an opioid analgesic

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 3331 of the public health law,  as
 added by chapter 732 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  (a)  When  a  patient seeks treatment for any neuromusculoskeletal
 condition that causes pain, where a practitioner  considers  [an  opioid
 treatment]  PRESCRIPTION  OF  A SCHEDULE II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE FOR THE
 TREATMENT OF PAIN OR ANY OTHER OPIOID DRUG WHICH IS A PRESCRIPTION  DRUG
 FOR  ACUTE  OR  CHRONIC  PAIN  AND  AGAIN  PRIOR  TO  ISSUING  THE THIRD
 PRESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE OF TREATMENT, the practitioner shall  consid-
 er,  discuss  with  the  patient  AS  SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION, and, as appropriate, refer or prescribe  non-opioid  treat-
 ment  alternatives,  based  on  the practitioner's clinical judgment and
 following generally accepted national professional or  treatment  guide-
 lines, and consistent with patient preference and consent, before start-
 ing a patient on opioid treatment. For the purposes of this subdivision,
 non-opioid  treatment  alternatives  include,  but  are  not limited to:
 acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy,  physical  therapy,  occupa-
 tional  therapy,  cognitive  behavioral therapy, non-opioid medications,
 interventional treatments and non-clinical activities such as  exercise.
 The  practitioner  shall inform the patient that some treatments may not
 be covered by the patient's health coverage.
   (b) A PRACTITIONER SHALL DISCUSS WITH THE PATIENT,  OR  THE  PATIENT'S
 PARENT  OR GUARDIAN IF THE PATIENT IS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND IS
 NOT AN EMANCIPATED MINOR, THE RISKS  ASSOCIATED  WITH  THE  DRUGS  BEING
 PRESCRIBED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11164-01-5

 S. 6758                             2
 
   (I)  THE  RISKS OF ADDICTION AND OVERDOSE ASSOCIATED WITH OPIOID DRUGS
 AND THE DANGERS OF TAKING OPIOID DRUGS WITH ALCOHOL, BENZODIAZEPINES AND
 OTHER CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEPRESSANTS;
   (II) THE REASONS WHY THE PRESCRIPTION IS NECESSARY;
   (III) ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE; AND
   (IV)  THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF THE DRUGS BEING PRESCRIBED,
 SPECIFICALLY THAT OPIOIDS ARE  HIGHLY  ADDICTIVE,  EVEN  WHEN  TAKEN  AS
 PRESCRIBED,  THAT THERE IS A RISK OF DEVELOPING A PHYSICAL OR PSYCHOLOG-
 ICAL DEPENDENCE ON THE CONTROLLED  SUBSTANCE,  AND  THAT  THE  RISKS  OF
 TAKING  MORE  OPIOIDS  THAN PRESCRIBED, OR MIXING SEDATIVES, BENZODIAZE-
 PINES  OR  ALCOHOL  WITH  OPIOIDS,  CAN  RESULT  IN  FATAL   RESPIRATORY
 DEPRESSION.
   (C)  THE  DEPARTMENT SHALL DEVELOP AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO PRACTITIONERS
 GUIDELINES FOR THE DISCUSSION REQUIRED BY THIS SUBDIVISION.
   (D) The requirements of this subdivision shall not apply for  patients
 being  treated  under  any of the following circumstances:  treatment of
 cancer; hospice or other end-of-life care; post-surgery treatment  imme-
 diately  following a surgical procedure; or in a medical emergency.  For
 purposes of this subdivision, "medical emergency" means an acute  injury
 or illness that poses an immediate risk to a person's life or health.
   §  2.  Paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision 3 of section 3309 of the public
 health law is amended by adding a new  subparagraph  (vii)  to  read  as
 follows:
   (VII) "OPIOID ANALGESICS" MEANS THE MEDICINES BUPRENORPHINE, BUTORPHA-
 NOL,   CODEINE,  HYDROCODONE,  HYDROMORPHONE,  LEVORPHANOL,  MEPERIDINE,
 METHADONE, MORPHINE, NALBUPHINE,  OXYCODONE,  OXYMORPHONE,  PENTAZOCINE,
 PROPOXYPHENE AS WELL AS THEIR BRAND NAMES, ISOMERS AND COMBINATIONS.
   §  3. Subdivision 7 of section 3309 of the public health law, as added
 by chapter 803 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   7. [With] FOR the first OPIOID ANALGESIC prescription [to a particular
 patient] of [an opioid of each] A CALENDAR year THAT IS GREATER  THAN  A
 ONE WEEK'S SUPPLY, for use in a setting other than a general hospital or
 nursing  home  under  article  twenty-eight  of this chapter or facility
 under article thirty-one of the mental hygiene law, or  when  a  practi-
 tioner is prescribing a controlled substance to a patient under the care
 of  hospice as defined by section four thousand two of this chapter, the
 prescriber shall COUNSEL THE PATIENT  ON  THE  RISKS  OF  OVERDOSE,  AND
 prescribe  an  opioid  antagonist when any of the following risk factors
 are present: (a) a history of substance use disorder; (b) high  dose  or
 cumulative prescriptions that result in ninety morphine milligram equiv-
 alents  or higher per day; (c) concurrent use of opioids and benzodiaze-
 pine or nonbenzodiazepine sedative hypnotics.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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