[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4641 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4641

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to 
   review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and 
          prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES FOR THE USE OF PRESCRIPTION 
              OPIOIDS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services; and
            (2) the term ``task force'' means the Pain Management Best 
        Practices Inter-Agency Task Force convened under subsection 
        (b).
    (b) Inter-Agency Task Force.--Not later than December 14, 2018, the 
Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 
Secretary of Defense, and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, shall convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-
Agency Task Force to review, modify, and update, as appropriate, best 
practices for pain management (including chronic and acute pain) and 
prescribing pain medication.
    (c) Membership.--The task force shall be comprised of--
            (1) representatives of--
                    (A) the Department of Health and Human Services;
                    (B) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
                    (C) the Food and Drug Administration;
                    (D) the Department of Defense;
                    (E) the Drug Enforcement Administration;
                    (F) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
                    (G) the Health Resources and Services 
                Administration;
                    (H) the Indian Health Service;
                    (I) the National Academy of Medicine;
                    (J) the National Institutes of Health;
                    (K) the Office of National Drug Control Policy;
                    (L) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
                Administration; and
                    (M) the Office of Women's Health;
            (2) State medical boards;
            (3) subject to subsection (e), physicians, dentists, and 
        nonphysician prescribers;
            (4) hospitals;
            (5) subject to subsection (e), pharmacists and pharmacies;
            (6) first responders;
            (7) experts in the fields of pain research and addiction 
        research;
            (8) experts in the fields of adolescent and young adult 
        addiction research;
            (9) representatives of--
                    (A) pain management professional organizations;
                    (B) the mental health treatment community;
                    (C) the addiction treatment and recovery community;
                    (D) pain advocacy groups;
                    (E) veteran service organizations; and
                    (F) groups with expertise on overdose reversal;
            (10) a person in recovery from addiction to medication for 
        chronic pain;
            (11) a person in recovery from addiction to medication for 
        chronic pain, whose addiction began in adolescence or young 
        adulthood;
            (12) a person with chronic pain;
            (13) an expert on active duty military, armed forces 
        personnel, and veteran health and prescription opioid 
        addiction;
            (14) an expert in the field of minority health; and
            (15) other stakeholders, as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    (d) Condition on Participation on Task Force.--An individual 
representing a profession or entity described in paragraph (3) or (5) 
of subsection (c) may not serve as a member of the task force unless 
such individual--
            (1) is currently licensed in a State in which such 
        individual is practicing (as defined by such State) such 
        profession (or, in the case of an individual representing an 
        entity, a State in which the entity is engaged in business); 
        and
            (2) is currently practicing (as defined by such State) such 
        profession (or, in the case of an individual representing an 
        entity, the entity is in operation).
    (e) Duties.--The task force shall--
            (1) not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
        task force is convened under subsection (b), review, modify, 
        and update, as appropriate, best practices for pain management 
        (including chronic and acute pain) and prescribing pain 
        medication, taking into consideration--
                    (A) existing pain management research;
                    (B) research on trends in areas and communities in 
                which the prescription opioid abuse rate and fatality 
                rate exceed the national average prescription opioid 
                abuse rate and fatality rate;
                    (C) recommendations from relevant conferences and 
                existing relevant evidence-based guidelines;
                    (D) ongoing efforts at the State and local levels 
                and by medical professional organizations to develop 
                improved pain management strategies, including 
                consideration of differences within and between classes 
                of opioids, the availability of opioids with abuse 
                deterrent technology, and pharmacological, 
                nonpharmacological, medical device alternatives to 
                opioids to reduce opioid monotherapy in appropriate 
                cases and the coordination of information collected 
                from State prescription drug monitoring programs for 
                the purpose of preventing the diversion of pain 
                medication;
                    (E) ongoing efforts at the Federal, State, and 
                local levels to examine the potential benefits of 
                electronic prescribing of opioids, including any public 
                comments collected in the course of those efforts;
                    (F) the management of high-risk populations, other 
                than populations who suffer pain, who--
                            (i) may use or be prescribed 
                        benzodiazepines, alcohol, and diverted opioids; 
                        or
                            (ii) receive opioids in the course of 
                        medical care;
                    (G) the distinct needs of adolescents and young 
                adults with respect to pain management, pain 
                medication, substance use disorder, and medication-
                assisted treatment;
                    (H) the 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for 
                Chronic Pain issued by the Centers for Disease Control 
                and Prevention;
                    (I) the practice of co-prescribing naloxone for 
                both pain patients receiving chronic opioid therapy and 
                patients being treated for opioid use disorders;
                    (J) research that has been, or is being, conducted 
                or supported by the Federal Government on prevention 
                of, treatment for, and recovery from substance use by 
                and substance use disorders among adolescents and young 
                adults relative to any unique circumstances (including 
                social and biological circumstances) of adolescents and 
                young adults that may make adolescent-specific and 
                young adult-specific treatment protocols necessary, 
                including any effects that substance use and substance 
                use disorders may have on brain development and the 
                implications for treatment and recovery;
                    (K) Federal non-research programs and activities 
                that address prevention of, treatment for, and recovery 
                from substance use by and substance use disorders among 
                adolescents and young adults, including an assessment 
                of the effectiveness of such programs and activities 
                in--
                            (i) preventing substance use by and 
                        substance use disorders among adolescents and 
                        young adults;
                            (ii) treating such adolescents and young 
                        adults in a way that accounts for any unique 
                        circumstances faced by adolescents and young 
                        adults; and
                            (iii) supporting long-term recovery among 
                        adolescents and young adults; and
                    (L) gaps that have been identified by Federal 
                officials and experts in Federal efforts relating to 
                prevention of, treatment for, and recovery from 
                substance use by and substance use disorders among 
                adolescents and young adults, including gaps in 
                research, data collection, and measures to evaluate the 
                effectiveness of Federal efforts, and the reasons for 
                such gaps;
            (2) solicit and take into consideration public comment on 
        the practices developed under paragraph (1), amending such best 
        practices if appropriate;
            (3) develop a strategy for disseminating information about 
        the best practices developed under paragraphs (1) and (2) to 
        prescribers, pharmacists, State medical boards, educational 
        institutions that educate prescribers and pharmacists, and 
        other parties, as the Secretary determines appropriate;
            (4) review, modify, and update best practices for pain 
        management and prescribing pain medication, specifically as it 
        pertains to physician education and consumer education; and
            (5) examine and identify--
                    (A) the extent of the need for the development of 
                new pharmacological, nonpharmacological, and medical 
                device alternatives to opioids;
                    (B) the current status of research efforts to 
                develop such alternatives; and
                    (C) the pharmacological, nonpharmacological, and 
                medical device alternatives to opioids that are 
                currently available that could be better utilized.
    (f) Consideration of Study Results.--In reviewing, modifying, and 
updating, best practices for pain management and prescribing pain 
medication, the task force shall take into consideration existing 
private sector, State, and local government efforts related to pain 
management and prescribing pain medication.
    (g) Limitation.--The task force shall not have rulemaking 
authority.
    (h) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date on which the 
task force is convened under subsection (b), the task force shall 
submit to Congress a report that includes--
            (1) the strategy for disseminating best practices for pain 
        management (including chronic and acute pain) and prescribing 
        pain medication, as developed under subsection (e);
            (2) the results of a feasibility study on linking the best 
        practices described in paragraph (1) to receiving and renewing 
        registrations under section 303(f) of the Controlled Substances 
        Act (21 U.S.C. 823(f));
            (3) recommendations for effectively applying the best 
        practices described in paragraph (1) to improve prescribing 
        practices at medical facilities, including medical facilities 
        of the Veterans Health Administration and Indian Health 
        Service;
            (4) the modified and updated best practices described in 
        subsection (e)(4); and
            (5) the results of the examination and identification 
        conducted pursuant to subsection (e)(4), and recommendations 
        regarding--
                    (A) the development of new pharmacological, 
                nonpharmacological, and medical device alternatives to 
                opioids; and
                    (B) the improved utilization of pharmacological, 
                nonpharmacological, and medical device alternatives to 
                opioids that are currently available.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 4641

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

   To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to 
   review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and 
          prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes.