Ga. bill targets providers who don’t track opioid Rx

A Georgia bill requiring healthcare providers to log opioid prescriptions in a state database passed a committee vote in the state Legislature. The bill would make healthcare providers criminally liable for failing to keep track of the opioid prescriptions they write. It would also make naloxone, an opioid antagonist that can reverse an overdose, available over the counter.

Georgia now has a voluntary database for opioid prescriptions. The bill would make database use mandatory. Failure to record a prescription within 24 hours of writing it would carry a prison sentence of one to five years, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.