Opioid prescriptions would be electronic if DeWine signs Ohio bill

(The Center Square) – Prescriptions for opioids in Ohio could only be written electronically if Gov. Mike DeWine signs a bill recently passed by the General Assembly.

Rep. Gail Pavliga, R-Portage County, called House Bill 193 a way to address the opioid crisis in the state. It was originally passed out of the House last year but failed to get Senate approval.

This year, it unanimously passed the House, and passed the Senate the same day with only Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, voting no.

“We originally passed this bill out of the House last year, deaths from the opioid crisis were high then and before the pandemic,” Pavliga said. “Sadly, since then we have discovered those numbers were on the rise by the end of 2021 and we need real solutions on this issue. If we can prevent any opioid deaths or overdoses from this bill, we will have taken a step in the right direction in addressing this ongoing epidemic.”

The bill, now in front of DeWine, would mandate all Schedule II drugs be prescribed through electronic means, except in certain circumstances. Pavliga said that would help reduce people from trying to get the drugs from pharmacies with stolen or fraudulent prescriptions.

 The bill would also provide a safe harbor provision for pharmacists.

The Senate added a provision that would require an Ohio-licensed physician who receives consultation from the out-of-state physician must have an established physician-patient relationship with the patient in consultation.

“I’m very pleased that after many in-depth discussions on this bill that it has been approved by the General Assembly and will be on its way to the governor,” Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, said. “One of my key priorities that I ran on was addressing the opioid crisis; it’s something that we need to call immediate attention to now.”

Pavliga said nearly half the states around the country have enacted mandatory e-prescribing of Scheduled II drugs.