Kasich announces new restrictions on painkiller prescriptions

By MARC KOVAC

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

Doctors will be limited in the number of prescription painkiller doses they can prescribe to patients, under changes announced by Gov. John Kasich and several state agencies.

The move, announced Thursday, will restrict opiate prescriptions to seven days for adults and five days for minors and cap the total morphine equivalent daily dose in those pills.

Doctors would be allowed to issue prescriptions above the limits if they provide specific reasons in patients’ medical records, and the restrictions would not apply to those dealing with cancer, hospice or palliative care or medication-assisted treatments for drug addiction.

The state medical, pharmacy, dental and nursing boards have already signed off on the changes.

“If a doctor is an outlier, you know what happens to the doctor? They lose their license,” Kasich said during a morning news conference at the Statehouse, where he, lawmakers and representatives of the licensing boards announced the changes. “You are going to have to abide by these rules, and if you don’t, you’re going to be in serious trouble, whether you’re a doctor or a dentist.”

The new limits are the latest in a series of changes instituted by the Kasich administration and lawmakers in recent years to combat the state’s ongoing drug epidemic. State officials have targeted prescription painkillers because they serve as a gateway to heroin and other drugs for many users.

“What we’re trying to do now is to not have another generation get hooked on prescription drugs so that they then move themselves into the area of heroin addiction,” Kasich said.

The state earlier made policy moves that led to a decrease of total opiates dispensed to Ohioans by 162 million doses between 2012 and last year, with 2.5 million fewer opiate prescriptions issued during that time.

Other changes have required increased tracking of patients’ painkiller prescriptions.

According to the administration, there’s also been a 78 percent decrease in the number of Ohioans able to obtain prescriptions for the same painkillers from multiple doctors.

Officials expect 109 million fewer opiate doses to be prescribed as a result of the new limits.

“These rules are intended to promote responsible prescribing while reducing the supply of leftover pain medications,” said Mark Hurst, medical director for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. “I’m confident that the proposed rules … will make an impact on reducing the number of opiate medications available for diversion of use while maintaining our ability to manage acute pain competently and compassionately.”