Georgia House of Representatives - 1995/1996 Sessions

HB 1271 - Intractable Pain Treatment Act; enact

Page Numbers - 1/ 2/ 3

Code Sections - 43-34-42.1

1. McBee  88th            2. Heard  89th             3. Scoggins  24th


House Comm: H&E        /                Senate Comm:            /                                   
House Vote: Yeas       Nays             Senate Vote: Yeas     Nays                                  
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               House          Action         Senate                                                 
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              1/12/96  Read 1st Time                                                                
              1/22/96  Read 2nd Time                                                                
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Code Sections amended:                                                                              


HB 1271                                          LC 11 8785/1






                        A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                               AN ACT


  1- 1  To amend Article 2 of Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the Official
  1- 2  Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to physicians, so as to
  1- 3  provide for the treatment of intractable pain; to provide
  1- 4  for a short title; to provide for definitions; to prevent
  1- 5  hospitals and health care facilities from forbidding or
  1- 6  restricting the use of controlled substances and dangerous
  1- 7  drugs in treating intractable pain; to limit disciplinary
  1- 8  actions for such use; to provide for exceptions; to provide
  1- 9  for disciplinary actions; to repeal conflicting laws; and
  1-10  for other purposes.

  1-11       BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

                         SECTION 1.

  1-12  Article 2 of Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the Official Code of
  1-13  Georgia Annotated, relating to physicians, is amended by
  1-14  adding following Code Section 43-34-42 a new Code section to
  1-15  read as follows:

  1-16    "43-34-42.1. (Index)

  1-17    (a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as
  1-18    the 'Intractable Pain Treatment Act.'

  1-19    (b) As used in this Code section, the term:

  1-20      (1) 'Controlled substance' means any controlled
  1-21      substance, as that term is defined in Code Section
  1-22      16-13-21.

  1-23      (2) 'Dangerous drug' means any dangerous drug as defined
  1-24      in Code Section 16-13-71.

  1-25      (3) 'Intractable pain' means a pain state in which the
  1-26      cause of the pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated
  1-27      and which in the generally accepted course of medical
  1-28      practice no relief or cure of the cause of the pain is
  1-29      possible or none has been found after reasonable
  1-30      efforts.




                                 -1- (Index)

                                                LC 11 8785/1

  2- 1      (4) 'Physician' means a person licensed to practice
  2- 2      medicine pursuant to this article.

  2- 3    (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
  2- 4    physician may prescribe or administer dangerous drugs or
  2- 5    controlled substances to a person in the course of the
  2- 6    physician's treatment of a person for intractable pain.

  2- 7    (d) No hospital or health care facility may forbid or
  2- 8    restrict the use of dangerous drugs or controlled
  2- 9    substances when prescribed or administered by a physician
  2-10    having staff privileges at that hospital or health care
  2-11    facility for a person diagnosed and treated by a physician
  2-12    for intractable pain.

  2-13    (e) No physician may be subject to disciplinary action by
  2-14    the board for prescribing or administering dangerous drugs
  2-15    or controlled substances in the course of treatment of a
  2-16    person for intractable pain.

  2-17    (f) The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to
  2-18    those persons being treated by a physician for chemical
  2-19    dependency because of their use of dangerous drugs or
  2-20    controlled substances.

  2-21    (g) The provisions of this Code section provide no
  2-22    authority to a physician to prescribe or administer
  2-23    dangerous drugs or controlled substances to a person the
  2-24    physician knows or should know to be using drugs for
  2-25    nontherapeutic purposes.

  2-26    (h) Nothing in this Code section shall deny the right of
  2-27    the board to discipline any physician who:

  2-28      (1) Prescribes or administers a drug or treatment that
  2-29      is nontherapeutic in nature or nontherapeutic in the
  2-30      manner the drug or treatment is administered or
  2-31      prescribed;

  2-32      (2) Fails to keep complete and accurate records of
  2-33      purchases and disposals of controlled substances.  A
  2-34      physician shall keep records of his or her purchases and
  2-35      disposals of these substances to include the date of
  2-36      purchase, the sale or disposal of the substances by the
  2-37      physician, the name and address of the person receiving
  2-38      the substances, and the reason for the disposal of or
  2-39      the dispensing of the substances to the person;

  2-40      (3) Writes false or fictitious prescriptions for
  2-41      dangerous drugs or for controlled substances; or



                                 -2- (Index)

                                                LC 11 8785/1

  3- 1      (4) Prescribes, administers, or dispenses in a manner
  3- 2      not consistent with public health and welfare dangerous
  3- 3      drugs or controlled substances."

                         SECTION 2.

  3- 4  All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
  3- 5  repealed.









































                                 -3- (Index)