BILL NUMBER: AB 507 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 29, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hayashi
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
An act to amend Sections 124960 and 124961 of, and to repeal
Section 11453 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to public
health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 507, Hayashi. Controlled substances: pain management.
(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of Justice to employ a
physician to interview and examine any patient in connection with the
prescription, possession, or use of a controlled substance, requires
the patient to submit to the interview and examination, and
authorizes the physician to testify in prescribed administrative
proceedings.
This bill would repeal that provision.
(2) Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the
licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical
Board of California. The violation of specified provisions of the act
is a crime. Existing law authorizes a physician and surgeon to
prescribe for, or dispense or administer to, a person under his or
her treatment for a medical condition, drugs or prescription
controlled substances for the treatment of pain or a condition
causing pain, including, but not limited to, intractable pain.
Existing law sets forth the Pain Patient's Bill of Rights.
This bill would revise the Pain Patient's Bill of Rights.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 11453 of the Health and Safety Code is
repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 124960 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
124960. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The state has a right and duty to control the illegal use of
opiate drugs.
(b) Inadequate treatment of acute and chronic pain originating
from cancer or noncancerous conditions is a significant health
problem.
(c) For some patients, pain management is the single most
important treatment a physician can provide.
(d) A patient suffering from severe chronic intractable pain
should have access to proper treatment of his or her pain.
(e) Due to the complexity of their problems, many patients
suffering from severe chronic intractable pain may require referral
to a physician with expertise in the treatment of severe chronic
intractable pain. In some cases, severe chronic intractable pain is
best treated by a team of clinicians in order to address the
associated physical, psychological, social, and vocational issues.
(f) In the hands of knowledgeable, ethical, and experienced pain
management practitioners, opiates administered for severe acute pain
and severe chronic intractable pain can be safe.
(g) Opiates can be an accepted treatment for patients in severe
chronic intractable pain who have not obtained relief from any other
means of treatment.
(h) A patient suffering from severe chronic intractable pain has
the option to request or reject the use of any or all modalities to
relieve his or her pain.
(i) A physician treating a patient who suffers from severe chronic
intractable pain may prescribe a dosage deemed medically necessary
to relieve pain as long as the prescribing is in conformance with
Section 2241.5 of the Business and Professions Code.
(j) A patient who suffers from severe chronic intractable pain has
the option to choose opiate medication for the treatment of the
severe chronic intractable pain as long as the prescribing is in
conformance with Section 2241.5 of the Business and Professions Code.
(k) The patient's physician may refuse to prescribe opiate
medication for a patient who requests the treatment for severe
chronic intractable pain. However, that physician shall inform the
patient that there are physicians who treat severe chronic
intractable pain with methods that include the use of opiates.
SEC. 3. Section 124961 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
124961. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter any
of the provisions set forth in Section 2241.5 of the Business and
Professions Code. This section shall be known as the Pain Patient's
Bill of Rights.
(a) A patient who suffers from severe chronic intractable pain has
the option to request or reject the use of any or all modalities in
order to relieve his or her pain.
(b) A patient who suffers from severe chronic intractable pain has
the option to choose opiate medications to relieve that pain without
first having to submit to an invasive medical procedure, which is
defined as surgery, destruction of a nerve or other body tissue by
manipulation, or the implantation of a drug delivery system or
device, as long as the prescribing physician acts in conformance with
the California Intractable Pain Treatment Act, Section 2241.5 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(c) The patient's physician may refuse to prescribe opiate
medication for the patient who requests a treatment for severe
chronic intractable pain. However, that physician shall inform the
patient that there are physicians who treat pain and whose methods
include the use of opiates.
(d) A physician who uses opiate therapy to relieve severe chronic
intractable pain may prescribe a dosage deemed medically necessary to
relieve the patient's pain, as long as that prescribing is in
conformance with Section 2241.5 of the Business and Professions Code.
(e) A patient may voluntarily request that his or her physician
provide an identifying notice of the prescription for purposes of
emergency treatment or law enforcement identification.
(f) Nothing in this section shall do either of the following:
(1) Limit any reporting or disciplinary provisions applicable to
licensed physicians and surgeons who violate prescribing practices or
other provisions set forth in the Medical Practice Act, Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code, or the regulations adopted thereunder.
(2) Limit the applicability of any federal statute or federal
regulation or any of the other statutes or regulations of this state
that regulate dangerous drugs or controlled substances.