* talk with patients and consider non-medication treatment
* assess the function of the patient,
* look for signs of abuse,
* consult with specialists,
* offer a naloxone prescription
* take other steps when treating someone suffering from subacute or chronic pain.
The more opiates a patient is taking, the more steps will be required by prescribers.
“Here is the message: if you have chronic pain, you don’t need to worry that somehow your medication will be cut off. The message is you’re going to be treated in a very special way, not that patients aren’t being treated that way now but it’s going to force everyone in that whole world to slow down and think about the individual,” Kasich said at a press conference.
The new rules, which take effect in the fall, won’t apply to hospice or terminal cancer patients.
Related: Five steps Ohio has taken to combat the opioid crisis
Some 80 percent of Ohioans who died from an overdose in 2016 had a history of abusing prescribed controlled substances.
While the Kasich administration efforts have led to a drop in deaths attributed to prescribed drugs, fatal overdoses on illicit drugs have continued to fuel Ohio’s alarming numbers.
“Don’t do street drugs, okay? That’s what’s driving up the numbers,” Kasich said.
Related: Drug overdose deaths jump 33-percent in Ohio
Accidental drug overdoses killed 4,050 Ohioans in 2016, up 33 percent over the 3,050 fatalities in 2015. Driving the spike is the emergence of fentanyl, carfentanil and cocaine laced with fentanyl, the health department reported.
The increase came even after the state spent $1-billion into programs to combat the crisis, including expanding Ohio Medicaid, distributing naloxone to counteract overdoses, beefing up the state’s online prescription tracking database and writing stringent prescribing rules.
Related: Ohio to start new limits on painkiller prescriptions
Related: Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor opens up about her sons’ opioid addiction
Unintentional fatal drug overdoses in Ohio have been on a steady, stunning climb from 904 in 2004 to 4,050 in 2016. Since 2007, unintentional drug overdoses have been the leading cause of injury death in Ohio — ahead of motor vehicle accidents. As Ohio puts more controls on prescribed opiates, people with addictions turn to illicit drugs such as heroin.
State Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, said he supports reducing addiction but “I do not think just legislating the practice of medicine achieves this goal.”
Kasich said the additional rules aren’t intended to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. “You don’t want to ever put the government or silly rules in between a patient and the ability of the physician to be able to practice their great, great gift,” he said.
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