The Florida Senate today passed CS/CS/HB 451 by Representative Scott Plakon (substituted for CS/SB 630 by Senator Keith Perry) related to Nonopioid Alternatives.
CS/CS/HB 451 directs the Florida Department of Health to develop and publish on its website an educational pamphlet regarding the use of nonopioid alternatives to treat pain. The bill requires health providers to discuss nonopioid alternatives with a patient prior to prescribing an opioid, provide a copy of the DOH-developed pamphlet to the patient and document the discussion in the patient’s medical record. These requirements do not apply to emergency care and services.
The Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists (FANA) released the following statement regarding the passage of the bill.
“For many years now, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) have been shining a light on revolutionary alternatives to opioids in anesthesia and post-anesthesia care. Today, we are proud that this legislation–one of the Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists’ priority issues—has been approved by both the Florida House and Senate.
“We are grateful to our champions, Senator Keith Perry and Representative Scott Plakon, who sponsored these measures and embraced these very important changes that we know will save lives.
“We also want to especially thank FANA’s own Jeanne Antolchick, Ph.D., APRN, CRNA, who led the charge and made sure this issue received the attention it deserved.
“We encourage Governor DeSantis to sign this very important bill and look forward to working with other health professionals as we continue to search for ways to combat Florida’s opioid epidemic.”
