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On July 29, the House Energy and Commerce Committee favorably reported H.R. 1725, the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015. This ASA-supported legislation, also known as NASPER, provides funding for prescription drug monitoring programs (PMPs). The legislation will next be considered by the full House.
ASA thanks the Committee for passing this bill without any amendments or opposition. ASA and other members of the Pain Care Coalition had urged members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to support the bill.
PMPs serve a critical role in the country’s multi-pronged approach to addressing prescription drug abuse, allowing physicians to view the drugs that their patients are receiving from other prescribers or pharmacies, which helps physicians ensure that they prescribe controlled substances only to those patients who use them responsibly to address genuine medical needs and not to those who will abuse or divert them.
ASA continues to work in support of efforts to curb prescription drug abuse while ensuring patient access to needed medications, including supporting PMPs, enhancing physician education on pain care, and increasing research directed at pain medicine therapies. ASA collaborated with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop a wallet-sized card describing the signs and symptoms of an overdose and instructions for assisting a person suspected of an overdose. Additionally, ASA is part of the American Medical Association (AMA) Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse, which announced the first of several national recommendations to address this growing epidemic.
Find the list of co-sponsors here.
Read the letter from the Pain Care Coalition in support of H.R. 1725.
Read the recommendations from the AMA Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse.
