The AP (8/14) reports Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) signed a bill Tuesday “aimed at helping curb the state’s opioid addiction crisis.” The new law requires hospital employees to “either admit a patient battling opioid addiction into an inpatient service or provide a referral to an internal or community-based treatment program when the patient expresses interest.” Additionally, the law “creates a commission to make recommendations about the credentialing of recovery coaches, who help those trying to remain drug-free. It also requires all prescribers to convert to electronic prescriptions by 2020.”
WBUR-FM Boston (8/14) reports on its website that this is the second major bill Baker “has signed to fight the crisis that claimed an estimated 2,016 lives in 2017. He marked the occasion Tuesday with a ceremonial signing at a Roxbury recovery center.”
Related Links:
— “Massachusetts Governor Touts Bill Aimed at Opioid Addiction, AP, August 14, 2018.