Bill to inform providers of patient overdoses passes Oregon Senate, heads to Kotek's desk
The Oregon Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to establish a notification system for heath care providers to inform them when a patient overdoses on opioids or other drugs.
House Bill 4150 would establish a coordinated system to share information with health care professionals about overdoses and allow providers to adjust patient treatment plans, possibly preventing future overdoses.
HB 4150 passed in the House on Feb. 14 with a nearly unanimous vote. It passed in the Senate with 28 votes in favor and 2 against.
It now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk for approval.
The bill received strong bipartisan support. If approved, it would take effect Jan. 1, 2025.
HB 4150 is one of many bills proposed during the short session intended to help address Oregon’s opioid crisis.
Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed overdose deaths rose at a faster rate in Oregon than anywhere else in the country. From 2022 to 2023, overdose deaths increased by 41% in the state.
Oregon substance use treatment providers ask for help
HB 4150 was initiated at the request of substance use disorder treatment providers who identified gaps in information sharing.
Providers may not know if a patient has recently overdosed because the patient received care at a hospital or a different health care facility.
What Oregon House Bill 4150 would do
The bill was crafted to connect those gaps and create a system to share overdose and prescription information across agencies.
Oregon’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Database is updated every time a narcotic prescription is dispensed, and providers can be authorized for access to this information.
HB 4150 would create a system to combine this prescription data with emergency room overdose data. If a patient overdoses, any provider who has prescribed them narcotics in the past year would be notified.
Sponsors of the bill confirmed it will not allow for any regulatory or disciplinary actions against patients or providers and is HIPAA compliant.
Improving patient care, preventing opioid deaths
Rep. Cyrus Javadi, R-North Coast/Astoria, one of the chief sponsors of the bill, has said the main goal of the legislation is to enhance patient safety and prevent further overdoses.
If providers are given access to overdose history, they can adjust patient treatment plans to avoid addictive substances, Javadi said in a House Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee meeting.
He emphasized the bill could potentially save lives and said it is a “significant step towards mitigating the opioid crisis."
Sydney Wyatt covers healthcare inequities in the Mid-Willamette Valley for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions, and tips to her at SWyatt@gannett.com, (503) 399-6613, or on Twitter @sydney_elise44
The Statesman Journal’s coverage of health care inequities is funded in part by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, which seeks to strengthen the cultural, social, educational, and spiritual base of the Pacific Northwest through capacity-building investments in the nonprofit sector.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon advances bill aimed at preventing patient opioid deaths
