Senator Keenan proposes adding opioid‑maintenance info to prescription monitoring program
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Summary
Senator John Keenan presented S.1406 to require that opioid‑maintenance treatment status be reported to the statewide prescription monitoring program (MassPAT) and that patients be able to sign a form granting providers access to that information.
Senator John Keenan told the committee he filed S.1406 to enhance the state’s prescription monitoring program (MassPAT) by requiring that opioid maintenance treatment status be entered into the database and that facilities provide a patient form authorizing provider access. Keenan said the change would help clinicians treat patients “as a whole person,” for example by letting a treating physician know whether a patient presenting with an injury is on medication‑assisted treatment before prescribing opioids.
Keenan acknowledged he was not sure whether there is specific research showing that the presence of opioid‑maintenance data in a PMP changes prescriber behavior, and he offered to follow up with the committee on that point. Committee members asked whether research exists; Keenan said he would check and report back.
The bill was presented as a tool to improve coordination across care settings; no formal vote was taken in the hearing and the sponsor requested a favorable report.
Provenance: - topicintro: Senator Keenan’s remarks introducing S.1406 beginning at 00:38:36. - topfinish: Keenan’s answers to committee questions about available research and follow‑up.
