42 U.S.C. § 294i: Emergency department alternatives to opioids program

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) shall carry out a program for purposes of awarding grants to hospitals and emergency departments, including freestanding emergency departments, to develop, implement, enhance, or study alternatives to opioids for pain management in such settings. To be eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1), a hospital or emergency department shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall seek to ensure geographical distribution among grant recipients. target treatment approaches for painful conditions frequently treated in such settings; train providers and other hospital personnel on protocols or best practices related to the use and prescription of opioids and alternatives to opioids for pain management in the emergency department; and develop or continue strategies to provide alternatives to opioids, as appropriate. The Secretary may carry out a demonstration program 1 similar to the program under subsection (a) for other acute care settings. 1 So in original. Probably should be “a program”. The Secretary shall implement a process for recipients of grants under subsection (a) or (b) to share evidence-based and best practices and promote consultation with persons having robust knowledge, including emergency departments and physicians that have successfully implemented programs that use alternatives to opioids for pain management, as appropriate, such as approaches studied through the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health or other institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, as appropriate. The Secretary shall offer to each recipient of a grant under subsection (a) or (b) technical assistance as necessary. utilizing information from recipients of a grant under subsection (a) or (b) that have successfully implemented alternatives to opioids programs; identifying or facilitating the development of best practices on the use of alternatives to opioids, which may include pain-management strategies that involve non-addictive medical products, non-pharmacologic treatments, and technologies or techniques to identify patients at risk for opioid use disorder; identifying or facilitating the development of best practices on the use of alternatives to opioids that target common painful conditions and include certain patient populations, such as geriatric patients, pregnant women, and children; and disseminating information on the use of alternatives to opioids to providers in acute care settings, which may include emergency departments, outpatient clinics, critical access hospitals, Federally qualified health centers, Indian Health Service health facilities, and Tribal hospitals. a description of and specific information about the opioid alternative pain management programs, including the demographic characteristics of patients who were treated with an alternative pain management protocol, implemented in hospitals, emergency departments, and other acute care settings; during a baseline period before the program began; or at various stages of the program; and data on patients who were eventually prescribed opioids after alternative pain management protocols and treatments were utilized; and any other information the Secretary determines appropriate. the number of applications received and the number funded; a summary of the reports described in subsection (e), including data that allows for comparison of programs; and recommendations for broader implementation of pain management strategies that encourage the use of alternatives to opioids in hospitals, emergency departments, or other acute care settings. To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.