nbcnews.com: Ohio Limits Opioid Prescriptions to Just Seven Days
3/30/2017
by CORKY SIEMASZKO
The Ohio governor unveiled a plan Thursday that targets the place where experts say many opioid addictions begin — the doctor's office.
Gov. John Kasich's order limits the amount of opiates primary care physicians and dentists can prescribe to no more than seven days for adults and five days for minors.
In addition to the pill limits, Kasich said the new rules require doctors to provide a specific diagnosis and procedure code for every painkiller prescription they write.
And Kasich warned that doctors who don't follow the rules will lose their licenses.
"You're going to have to abide by these rules," he said.
The new limits, which have gotten the blessing of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, the State Medical Board, and the state's dental and nursing boards, do not apply to patients who take prescription painkillers for cancer treatment or to dying patients who are already receiving hospice care, Kasich said.
Kasich also said lawmakers and doctors can't do it alone and that Ohioans are going to have to speak up when they see something if they want to vanquish this plague.