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SENATE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 2207, 2528
PRINTER'S NO. 2885
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1662
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY DiGIROLAMO, KINSEY, ZABEL, SCHLOSSBERG, MILLARD,
HOHENSTEIN, HOWARD, DeLUCA, SAYLOR, T. DAVIS, FREEMAN,
NEILSON, SIMS, MOUL, HILL-EVANS, WEBSTER, POLINCHOCK, ROZZI,
NELSON, STRUZZI, PASHINSKI, RIGBY, SCHLEGEL CULVER, COMITTA,
GREGORY, MIHALEK, KORTZ, DONATUCCI AND MALAGARI,
JUNE 19, 2019
SENATOR BROOKS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, IN SENATE, AS
AMENDED, NOVEMBER 18, 2019
AN ACT
Amending the act of October 24, 2012 (P.L.1198, No.148),
entitled "An act establishing the Methadone Death and
Incident Review Team and providing for its powers and duties;
and imposing a penalty," further providing for title of act,
for short title, for definitions, for establishment of
Methadone Death and Incident Review Team, for team duties,
for duties of coroner and medical examiner, for review
procedures and for confidentiality.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The title and sections 1, 2, 3 heading, (a) and
(b)(3), 4, 5, 6 and 8(a) and (f) of the act of October 24, 2012
(P.L.1198, No.148), known as the Methadone Death and Incident
Review Act, are amended to read:
An Act
Establishing the [Methadone] Medication Death and Incident
Review Team and providing for its powers and duties; and
imposing a penalty.
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Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the [Methadone]
Medication Death and Incident Review Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs of
the Commonwealth.
["Methadone-related] "Medication- related death." A death
where [methadone] a medication approved by the United States
Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid use
disorder was:
(1) a primary or secondary cause of death; or
(2) may have been a contributing factor.
["Methadone-related] "Medication- related incident." A
situation where [methadone] a medication approved by the United
States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid
use disorder may be a contributing factor which:
(1) does not involve a fatality; and
(2) involves:
(i) a serious injury; or
(ii) unreasonable risk of death or serious injury.
["Narcotic treatment program."] "Opioid-assisted treatment
program." A program licensed and approved by the Department of
Drug and Alcohol Programs for chronic opiate drug users that
administers or dispenses agents under a narcotic treatment
physician's order, either for detoxification purposes or for
maintenance.
"Opioid use disorder." A problematic pattern of opioid use
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leading to clinically significant impairment or distress.
"Secretary." The Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs of
the Commonwealth.
"Team." The [Methadone] Medication Death and Incident Review
Team established under section 3.
Section 3. Establishment of [Methadone] Medication Death and
Incident Review Team.
(a) Team established.--The department shall establish a
[Methadone] Medication Death and Incident Review Team and
conduct a review and shall examine the circumstances surrounding
[methadone-related] medication-related deaths and [methadone-
related] medication-related incidents in this Commonwealth for
the purpose of promoting safety, reducing [methadone-related]
medication-related deaths and [methadone-related] medication-
related incidents and improving treatment practices.
(b) Composition.--The team shall consist of the following
individuals:
* * *
(3) The following individuals appointed by the
secretary:
(i) A representative from [narcotic treatment
programs as defined in 28 Pa. Code § 701.1 (relating to
definitions)] an opioid-assisted treatment program.
(ii) A representative from a licensed drug and
alcohol addiction treatment program that is not defined
as [a narcotic treatment program] an opioid-assisted
treatment program.
(iii) A representative from law enforcement
recommended by a Statewide association representing
members of law enforcement.
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(iv) A representative from the medical community
recommended by a Statewide association representing
physicians.
(v) A district attorney recommended by a Statewide
association representing district attorneys.
(vi) A coroner or medical examiner recommended by a
Statewide association representing county coroners and
medical examiners.
(vii) A member of the public.
(viii) A patient or family advocate.
(ix) A representative from a recovery organization.
(x) An office-based agonist treatment provider who
is assigned a waiver from the Drug Enforcement
Administration, including a special identification
number, commonly referred to as the "X" DEA number, to
provide office-based prescribing of buprenorphine.
(xi) A representative of the Department of Health
who is affiliated with the Achieving Better Care by
Monitoring All Prescriptions Program (ABC-MAP)
established under the act of October 27, 2014 (P.L.2911,
No.191) , known as the Achieving Better Care by Monitoring
All Prescriptions Program (ABC-MAP) Act .
(xii) A toxicologist.
* * *
Section 4. Team duties.
The team shall:
(1) Review each medication-related death where
[methadone] a medication approved by the United States Food
and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid use
disorder was either the primary or a secondary cause of death
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and review [methadone-related] medication-related incidents.
(2) Determine the role that [methadone] a medication
approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration
for the treatment of opioid use disorder played in each death
and [methadone-related] medication-related incident.
(3) Communicate concerns to regulators and facilitate
communication within the health care and legal systems about
issues that could threaten health and public safety.
(4) Develop best practices to prevent future [methadone-
related] medication-related deaths and [methadone-related]
medication- related incidents. The best practices shall be:
(i) Promulgated by the department as regulations.
(ii) Posted on the department's Internet website.
(5) Collect and store data on the number of [methadone-
related] medication-related deaths and [methadone-related]
medication- related incidents and provide a brief description
of each death and incident. The aggregate statistics shall be
posted on the department's Internet website. [The team may
collect and store data concerning deaths and incidents
related to other drugs used in opiate treatment.]
(6) Develop a form for the submission of [methadone-
related] medication-related deaths and [methadone-related]
medication- related incidents to the team by any concerned
party.
(7) Develop, in consultation with a Statewide
association representing county coroners and medical
examiners, a model form for county coroners and medical
examiners to use to report and transmit information regarding
[methadone-related] medication- related deaths to the team.
The team and the Statewide association representing county
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coroners and medical examiners shall collaborate to ensure
that all [methadone-related] medication-related deaths are,
to the fullest extent possible, identified by coroners and
medical examiners.
(8) Develop and implement any other strategies that the
team identifies to ensure that the most complete collection
of [methadone-related] medication- related death and
[methadone-related] medication-related serious incident cases
reasonably possible is created.
(9) Prepare an annual report that shall be posted on the
department's Internet website and distributed to the chairman
and minority chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the
Senate, the chairman and minority chairman of the [Public
Health and Welfare] Health and Human Services Committee of
the Senate, the chairman and minority chairman of the
Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and the
chairman and minority chairman of the Human Services
Committee of the House of Representatives. Each report shall:
(i) Provide public information regarding the number
and causes of [methadone-related] medication-related
deaths and [methadone-related] medication-related
incidents.
(ii) Provide aggregate data on five-year trends on
[methadone-related] medication- related deaths and
[methadone-related] medication-related incidents when
such information is available.
(iii) Make recommendations to prevent future
[methadone-related] medication- related deaths,
[methadone-related] medication-related incidents and
abuse and set forth the department's plan for
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implementing the recommendations.
(iv) Recommend changes to statutes and regulations
to decrease [methadone-related] medication-related deaths
and [methadone-related] medication-related incidents.
(v) Provide a report on [methadone-related]
medication-related deaths and [methadone-related]
medication- related incidents and concerns regarding
[narcotic] opioid-assisted treatment programs.
(10) Develop and publish on the department's Internet
website a list of meetings for each year.
Section 5. Duties of coroner and medical examiner.
A county coroner or medical examiner shall forward all
[methadone-related] medication-related death cases to the team
for review. The county coroner and medical examiner shall use
the model form developed by the team to transmit the data.
Section 6. Review procedures.
The team may review the following information:
(1) Coroner's reports or postmortem examination records
unless otherwise prohibited by Federal or State laws,
regulations or court decisions.
(2) Death certificates and birth certificates.
(3) Law enforcement records and interviews with law
enforcement officials as long as the release of such records
will not jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or
proceeding.
(4) Medical records from hospitals, other health care
providers and [narcotic treatment programs] opioid-assisted
treatment programs.
(5) Information and reports made available by the county
children and youth agency in accordance with 23 Pa.C.S. Ch.
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63 (relating to child protective services).
(6) Information made available by firefighters or
emergency services personnel.
(7) Reports and records made available by the court to
the extent permitted by law or court rule.
(8) EMS records.
(9) Traffic fatality reports.
(10) [Narcotic treatment program] O pioid-assisted
treatment program incident reports.
(11) [Narcotic treatment program] Opioid-assisted
treatment program licensure surveys from the program
licensure division.
(12) Any other records necessary to conduct the review.
Section 8. Confidentiality.
(a) Maintenance.--The team shall maintain the
confidentiality of any identifying information obtained relating
to the death of an individual or adverse incidents regarding
[methadone] medication, including the name of the individual,
guardians, family members, caretakers or alleged or suspected
perpetrators of abuse, neglect or a criminal act.
* * *
(f) Attendance.--Nothing in this act shall prevent the team
from allowing the attendance of a person with information
relevant to a review at a [methadone] medication death and
incident team review meeting.
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 90 days.
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