Cutrona and Pavliga Testify on Legislation to Combat Opioid Crisis amid Pandemic

Today, State Reps. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) and Gail Pavliga (R-Atwater) gave testimony on the first hearing for House Bill 193. The legislation the representatives have introduced requires all Schedule II prescriptions to be done electronically, except under certain circumstances. The legislation is meant to address the ongoing concerns of the state’s opioid issues.

Cutrona mentioned during his testimony that he’s had a personal story regarding this issue.

“As the Chief Operating Officer for an infectious disease medical practice, I have been on the receiving end of a call from a pharmacy asking if one of my doctors had written a suspicious script for a Schedule II drug,” said Cutrona. “Thankfully, the fraudulent script was caught and the prescription was not given, but I hate to think what would have been done with that prescription if it weren’t for the diligence of the pharmacist at the counter.”

Pavliga noted how they’re coordinating with groups to ensure the legislation is implemented properly.

“As we work through the legislative process on this important piece of legislation, we will also be working with other organizations, such as the Ohio State Medical Association along with a few national groups to learn best practices,” Pavliga said.

Under the legislation, all Schedule II drugs will have to be prescribed through electronic means, except in certain emergency circumstances. This will help reduce situations where individuals try to obtain Schedule II drugs from pharmacies with stolen or fraudulent scripts. 

The representatives acknowledged that nearly half the states around the country have enacted mandatory e-prescribing of Scheduled II drugs, which would give Ohio the ability to connect with those states and learn what has been working and what modifications might need to be made.

“For instance, several of our neighboring states have the requirement in place, but have exemptions such as how to address a lack of broadband or connectivity issues or what to do if the electronic health systems are down,” Pavliga added. “Looking at policies that are already in place around the country will give us an opportunity to truly pass a law that will be all encompassing.”

According to the American Medical Association, several reports have indicated a significant rise in opioid deaths of Ohioans with the likely cause being effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since introducing this bill, I have received emails from other doctors who have had the same thing happen to them. This bill will completely eliminate this problem from ever occurring again in the future,” Cutrona said.

Cutrona and Pavliga are joint sponsors on the legislation and it has five other cosponsors.

Today’s hearing was the first for House Bill 193 within the Ohio House Health Committee and awaits further consideration.