Intractable Pain Treatment Act

This act governs the treatment of intractable pain, setting out when a licensed practitioner may prescribe or administer controlled substances and other dangerous drugs to a patient suffering from such pain, along with the limits on that authority — including its inapplicability to certain chemically dependent persons and restrictions on how hospitals and other health care facilities may constrain the use of those drugs. Its central mechanism is a protection from discipline: a practitioner who treats intractable pain within the act's terms may not be subjected to disciplinary action, conditioned on documenting the treatment, obtaining consultation where required, and monitoring the patient. The licensing board retains its power to suspend or revoke a license, so the protection reaches only prescribing that satisfies the act's conditions.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.