2016 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
Title 35 - HEALTH AND SAFETY
Chapter 52 - Patient Voluntary Nonopioid Directive
Section 5203 - Voluntary nonopioid directive

§ 5203. Voluntary nonopioid directive.

(a) Duty of department.--

(1) In consultation with a Statewide professional organization representing physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, Statewide organizations representing nursing homes, registered professional nurses, emergency medical systems and a Statewide organization representing health care facilities, the department shall develop and publish a uniform voluntary nonopioid directive form which may be used by a patient to deny or refuse the administration or prescribing of a controlled substance containing an opioid by a practitioner.

(2) The voluntary nonopioid directive form developed by the department in accordance with paragraph (1) shall indicate to all prescribing practitioners and health care facilities that the named patient shall not be offered, prescribed, supplied with or otherwise administered a controlled substance containing an opioid.

(3) The voluntary nonopioid directive form shall be posted in a downloadable format on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.

(b) Execution of form.--The following shall apply:

(1) A patient may execute and file a voluntary nonopioid directive form with a practitioner or other authority authorized by the secretary to accept the voluntary nonopioid directive form for filing. Each practitioner or other person authorized by the secretary to accept a voluntary nonopioid directive form for filing shall date and affix his signature to the form in the presence of the patient as evidence of acceptance and shall provide a signed copy of the form to the patient.

(2) The patient executing and filing a voluntary nonopioid directive form with a practitioner shall sign and date the form in the presence of the practitioner, a designee of the practitioner or other person authorized by the secretary to accept a voluntary nonopioid directive form for filing. In the case of a patient who is unable to execute and file a voluntary nonopioid form, the patient may designate a duly authorized guardian or health care proxy to execute and file the form in accordance with paragraph (1).

(3) A patient may revoke the voluntary nonopioid directive form for any reason and may do so by written or oral means.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), before signing a voluntary nonopioid directive form a practitioner may, if deemed appropriate, assess the patient's personal and family history of alcohol or drug abuse and evaluate the patient's risk for medication misuse or abuse. In evaluating such risks, the practitioner shall access the system to determine whether an unusual or suspect pattern for the prescribing of controlled substances containing opioids to the patient has been reported to the system. If a practitioner reasonably believes that a patient is at risk for substance misuse or abuse or a practitioner believes in the practitioner's expert medical opinion that for any other reason the nonopioid directive is appropriate, the practitioner shall sign the form. The practitioner signing the nonopioid directive form shall note doing so in the patient's medical record.