Summary of Public Board Hearing on Regulation 2

This morning the Arkansas State Medical Board conducted a public hearing on regulation 2 concerning excessive prescribing of opioid medications.  There were numerous public comments both for and against the regulation and the Board made it clear that this was merely a hearing to discuss comments at this time.  Throughout the morning, board members and participants discussed the need to distinguish between acute vs. chronic pain as well as discussion of appropriate milligram equivalents as previously indicated by the CDC.  Some comments/questions from the public included discussion of some pharmacies not filling indicated prescriptions based on organizational policies, treating patients with opioids in postoperative period, as well as difficulty with regulations not treating patients as "every size fits all."  Many were in agreement that the opioid crisis needed to be addressed at this time and were supportive of the State Medical Board's steps toward addressing the issue.  There was also discussion from the public and board about a change requiring providers to have 1 hour of opioid CME per year as part of 20 required CME hours.  There will be another public hearing in which I would encourage you to attend.