No opioids, please: Clearing the way to refuse prescriptions

HARTFORD, CONN. — The ease of relapsing into opioid addiction has led a growing number of states to help residents make it clear to medical professionals they do not want to be prescribed the powerful painkillers.

Connecticut and Alaska are two of the latest considering legislation this year that would create a “non-opioid directive” patients can put in their medical files, formally notifying health care professionals they do not want to be prescribed or administered opioid medications.

Legislators in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania last year voted to create similar voluntary directives.

While patients typically have the right to make decisions about the medical care they receive and whether they want certain treatments, proponents of non-opioid directives contend such a document make a patient’s wishes clear, especially in advance of medical care or if a patient becomes incapacitated.

They are also seen as a way to prevent someone in addiction recovery from relapsing. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes how exposure to drugs is one of the most common triggers for relapse.