100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB1815

 

Introduced 2/9/2017, by Sen. Chapin Rose

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 301/5-23
745 ILCS 49/70

    Amends the Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and Dependency Act. Provides that any health care professional and any EMS Medical Director who, acting in good faith, directly or by standing order, prescribes or dispenses an opioid antidote to: (a) a patient who, in the judgment of the health care professional, is capable of administering the drug in an emergency, or (b) a person who is not at risk of opioid overdose but who, in the judgment of the health care professional, may be in a position to assist another individual during an opioid-related drug overdose and who has received basic instruction on how to administer an opioid antagonist shall not, as a result of his or her acts or omissions, except willful and wanton misconduct, be liable for civil damages when administering naloxone in an emergency situation. Amends the Good Samaritan Act. Provides that any law enforcement officer or fireman, any emergency medical technician, and any first responder who in good faith provides emergency care, including the administration of an opioid antagonist, without fee or compensation to any person shall not, as a result of his or her acts or omissions, except willful and wanton misconduct, be liable for civil damages when administering naloxone in an emergency situation.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and
5Dependency Act is amended by changing Section 5-23 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 301/5-23)
7    Sec. 5-23. Drug Overdose Prevention Program.
8    (a) Reports of drug overdose.
9        (1) The Director of the Division of Alcoholism and
10    Substance Abuse shall publish annually a report on drug
11    overdose trends statewide that reviews State death rates
12    from available data to ascertain changes in the causes or
13    rates of fatal and nonfatal drug overdose. The report shall
14    also provide information on interventions that would be
15    effective in reducing the rate of fatal or nonfatal drug
16    overdose and shall include an analysis of drug overdose
17    information reported to the Department of Public Health
18    pursuant to subsection (e) of Section 3-3013 of the
19    Counties Code, Section 6.14g of the Hospital Licensing Act,
20    and subsection (j) of Section 22-30 of the School Code.
21        (2) The report may include:
22            (A) Trends in drug overdose death rates.
23            (B) Trends in emergency room utilization related

 

 

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1        to drug overdose and the cost impact of emergency room
2        utilization.
3            (C) Trends in utilization of pre-hospital and
4        emergency services and the cost impact of emergency
5        services utilization.
6            (D) Suggested improvements in data collection.
7            (E) A description of other interventions effective
8        in reducing the rate of fatal or nonfatal drug
9        overdose.
10            (F) A description of efforts undertaken to educate
11        the public about unused medication and about how to
12        properly dispose of unused medication, including the
13        number of registered collection receptacles in this
14        State, mail-back programs, and drug take-back events.
15    (b) Programs; drug overdose prevention.
16        (1) The Director may establish a program to provide for
17    the production and publication, in electronic and other
18    formats, of drug overdose prevention, recognition, and
19    response literature. The Director may develop and
20    disseminate curricula for use by professionals,
21    organizations, individuals, or committees interested in
22    the prevention of fatal and nonfatal drug overdose,
23    including, but not limited to, drug users, jail and prison
24    personnel, jail and prison inmates, drug treatment
25    professionals, emergency medical personnel, hospital
26    staff, families and associates of drug users, peace

 

 

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1    officers, firefighters, public safety officers, needle
2    exchange program staff, and other persons. In addition to
3    information regarding drug overdose prevention,
4    recognition, and response, literature produced by the
5    Department shall stress that drug use remains illegal and
6    highly dangerous and that complete abstinence from illegal
7    drug use is the healthiest choice. The literature shall
8    provide information and resources for substance abuse
9    treatment.
10        The Director may establish or authorize programs for
11    prescribing, dispensing, or distributing opioid
12    antagonists for the treatment of drug overdose. Such
13    programs may include the prescribing of opioid antagonists
14    for the treatment of drug overdose to a person who is not
15    at risk of opioid overdose but who, in the judgment of the
16    health care professional, may be in a position to assist
17    another individual during an opioid-related drug overdose
18    and who has received basic instruction on how to administer
19    an opioid antagonist.
20        (2) The Director may provide advice to State and local
21    officials on the growing drug overdose crisis, including
22    the prevalence of drug overdose incidents, programs
23    promoting the disposal of unused prescription drugs,
24    trends in drug overdose incidents, and solutions to the
25    drug overdose crisis.
26    (c) Grants.

 

 

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1        (1) The Director may award grants, in accordance with
2    this subsection, to create or support local drug overdose
3    prevention, recognition, and response projects. Local
4    health departments, correctional institutions, hospitals,
5    universities, community-based organizations, and
6    faith-based organizations may apply to the Department for a
7    grant under this subsection at the time and in the manner
8    the Director prescribes.
9        (2) In awarding grants, the Director shall consider the
10    necessity for overdose prevention projects in various
11    settings and shall encourage all grant applicants to
12    develop interventions that will be effective and viable in
13    their local areas.
14        (3) The Director shall give preference for grants to
15    proposals that, in addition to providing life-saving
16    interventions and responses, provide information to drug
17    users on how to access drug treatment or other strategies
18    for abstaining from illegal drugs. The Director shall give
19    preference to proposals that include one or more of the
20    following elements:
21            (A) Policies and projects to encourage persons,
22        including drug users, to call 911 when they witness a
23        potentially fatal drug overdose.
24            (B) Drug overdose prevention, recognition, and
25        response education projects in drug treatment centers,
26        outreach programs, and other organizations that work

 

 

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1        with, or have access to, drug users and their families
2        and communities.
3            (C) Drug overdose recognition and response
4        training, including rescue breathing, in drug
5        treatment centers and for other organizations that
6        work with, or have access to, drug users and their
7        families and communities.
8            (D) The production and distribution of targeted or
9        mass media materials on drug overdose prevention and
10        response, the potential dangers of keeping unused
11        prescription drugs in the home, and methods to properly
12        dispose of unused prescription drugs.
13            (E) Prescription and distribution of opioid
14        antagonists.
15            (F) The institution of education and training
16        projects on drug overdose response and treatment for
17        emergency services and law enforcement personnel.
18            (G) A system of parent, family, and survivor
19        education and mutual support groups.
20        (4) In addition to moneys appropriated by the General
21    Assembly, the Director may seek grants from private
22    foundations, the federal government, and other sources to
23    fund the grants under this Section and to fund an
24    evaluation of the programs supported by the grants.
25    (d) Health care professional prescription of opioid
26antagonists.

 

 

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1        (1) Any A health care professional and any EMS Medical
2    Director as defined in 77 Ill. Adm. Code 515.100 who,
3    acting in good faith, directly or by standing order,
4    prescribes or dispenses an opioid antagonist to: (a) a
5    patient who, in the judgment of the health care
6    professional, is capable of administering the drug in an
7    emergency, or (b) a person who is not at risk of opioid
8    overdose but who, in the judgment of the health care
9    professional, may be in a position to assist another
10    individual during an opioid-related drug overdose and who
11    has received basic instruction on how to administer an
12    opioid antagonist shall not, as a result of his or her acts
13    or omissions, except willful and wanton misconduct, be
14    liable for civil damages when administering naloxone in an
15    emergency situation, and shall not, as a result of his or
16    her acts or omissions, be subject to: (i) any disciplinary
17    or other adverse action under the Medical Practice Act of
18    1987, the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987, the
19    Nurse Practice Act, the Pharmacy Practice Act, or any other
20    professional licensing statute or (ii) any criminal
21    liability, except for willful and wanton misconduct.
22        (2) A person who is not otherwise licensed to
23    administer an opioid antagonist may in an emergency
24    administer without fee an opioid antagonist if the person
25    has received the patient information specified in
26    paragraph (4) of this subsection and believes in good faith

 

 

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1    that another person is experiencing a drug overdose. The
2    person shall not, as a result of his or her acts or
3    omissions, be (i) liable for any violation of the Medical
4    Practice Act of 1987, the Physician Assistant Practice Act
5    of 1987, the Nurse Practice Act, the Pharmacy Practice Act,
6    or any other professional licensing statute, or (ii)
7    subject to any criminal prosecution or civil liability,
8    except for willful and wanton misconduct.
9        (3) A health care professional prescribing an opioid
10    antagonist to a patient shall ensure that the patient
11    receives the patient information specified in paragraph
12    (4) of this subsection. Patient information may be provided
13    by the health care professional or a community-based
14    organization, substance abuse program, or other
15    organization with which the health care professional
16    establishes a written agreement that includes a
17    description of how the organization will provide patient
18    information, how employees or volunteers providing
19    information will be trained, and standards for documenting
20    the provision of patient information to patients.
21    Provision of patient information shall be documented in the
22    patient's medical record or through similar means as
23    determined by agreement between the health care
24    professional and the organization. The Director of the
25    Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, in
26    consultation with statewide organizations representing

 

 

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1    physicians, pharmacists, advanced practice nurses,
2    physician assistants, substance abuse programs, and other
3    interested groups, shall develop and disseminate to health
4    care professionals, community-based organizations,
5    substance abuse programs, and other organizations training
6    materials in video, electronic, or other formats to
7    facilitate the provision of such patient information.
8        (4) For the purposes of this subsection:
9        "Opioid antagonist" means a drug that binds to opioid
10    receptors and blocks or inhibits the effect of opioids
11    acting on those receptors, including, but not limited to,
12    naloxone hydrochloride or any other similarly acting drug
13    approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
14        "Health care professional" means a physician licensed
15    to practice medicine in all its branches, a licensed
16    physician assistant with prescriptive authority, a
17    licensed advanced practice nurse with prescriptive
18    authority, an advanced practice nurse or physician
19    assistant who practices in a hospital, hospital affiliate,
20    or ambulatory surgical treatment center and possesses
21    appropriate clinical privileges in accordance with the
22    Nurse Practice Act, or a pharmacist licensed to practice
23    pharmacy under the Pharmacy Practice Act.
24        "Patient" includes a person who is not at risk of
25    opioid overdose but who, in the judgment of the physician,
26    advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant, may be in

 

 

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1    a position to assist another individual during an overdose
2    and who has received patient information as required in
3    paragraph (2) of this subsection on the indications for and
4    administration of an opioid antagonist.
5        "Patient information" includes information provided to
6    the patient on drug overdose prevention and recognition;
7    how to perform rescue breathing and resuscitation; opioid
8    antagonist dosage and administration; the importance of
9    calling 911; care for the overdose victim after
10    administration of the overdose antagonist; and other
11    issues as necessary.
12    (e) Drug overdose response policy.
13        (1) Every State and local government agency that
14    employs a law enforcement officer or fireman as those terms
15    are defined in the Line of Duty Compensation Act must
16    possess opioid antagonists and must establish a policy to
17    control the acquisition, storage, transportation, and
18    administration of such opioid antagonists and to provide
19    training in the administration of opioid antagonists. A
20    State or local government agency that employs a fireman as
21    defined in the Line of Duty Compensation Act but does not
22    respond to emergency medical calls or provide medical
23    services shall be exempt from this subsection.
24        (2) Every publicly or privately owned ambulance,
25    special emergency medical services vehicle, non-transport
26    vehicle, or ambulance assist vehicle, as described in the

 

 

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1    Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, which
2    responds to requests for emergency services or transports
3    patients between hospitals in emergency situations must
4    possess opioid antagonists.
5        (3) Entities that are required under paragraphs (1) and
6    (2) to possess opioid antagonists may also apply to the
7    Department for a grant to fund the acquisition of opioid
8    antagonists and training programs on the administration of
9    opioid antagonists.
10(Source: P.A. 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 99-480, eff. 9-9-15;
1199-581, eff. 1-1-17; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16; revised 9-19-16.)
 
12    Section 10. The Good Samaritan Act is amended by changing
13Section 70 as follows:
 
14    (745 ILCS 49/70)
15    Sec. 70. Law enforcement officers, firemen, Emergency
16Medical Technicians (EMTs) and First Responders; exemption
17from civil liability for emergency care. Any law enforcement
18officer or fireman as defined in Section 2 of the Line of Duty
19Compensation Act, any "emergency medical technician (EMT)" as
20defined in Section 3.50 of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
21Systems Act, and any "first responder" as defined in Section
223.60 of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, who
23in good faith provides emergency care, including the
24administration of an opioid antagonist as defined in Section

 

 

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15-23 of the Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and Dependency Act,
2without fee or compensation to any person shall not, as a
3result of his or her acts or omissions, except willful and
4wanton misconduct, be liable for civil damages when
5administering naloxone in an emergency situation, and shall
6not, as a result of his or her acts or omissions, except
7willful and wanton misconduct on the part of the person, in
8providing the care, be liable to a person to whom such care is
9provided for civil damages.
10(Source: P.A. 99-480, eff. 9-9-15.)