§978.3. Continuing education for the prescribing of controlled substances

A. The continuing education requirement established in this Section shall apply to all practitioners with prescriptive authority in Louisiana that have a controlled dangerous substance license in Louisiana.

B. Each licensing board that regulates practitioners with prescriptive authority in Louisiana shall establish continuing education requirements as a prerequisite to license renewal. Each board shall develop continuing education criteria, to include drug diversion training, best practice prescribing of controlled substances, appropriate treatment for addiction, and any other matters regarding the prescribing of controlled dangerous substances that are deemed appropriate by the board. Rules and regulations to implement this Section shall be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Such rules shall include all of the following:

(1) Each practitioner with prescriptive authority in Louisiana who holds a controlled dangerous substance license shall obtain three credit hours of continuing education as a prerequisite to license renewal with his professional licensing board. Successful completion of this requirement once shall satisfy the requirement in full.

(2) A practitioner with prescriptive authority in Louisiana who has a controlled dangerous substance license shall be exempt from the continuing education requirements for license renewal established in this Section if he completes and submits to his licensing board a certification form developed by his licensing board attesting that he has not prescribed, administered, or dispensed a controlled dangerous substance during the entire applicable reporting period. The licensing board shall verify the attestation of the prescriber through the prescription monitoring program established in R.S. 40:1001 et seq.

C. The licensing board shall provide its members with information on how to access the continuing education courses as required by this Section and shall retain annual compliance documentation that shall be submitted to the Senate and House committees on health and welfare to demonstrate aggregate prescriber compliance. No license shall be renewed for an individual who fails to comply with the provisions of this Section.

D. The continuing education hours required by this Section shall be considered among the credit hours required of the prescriber by the licensing board on and after August 1, 2017, and shall not be considered an additional requirement to be met by a prescriber.

E. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to individuals licensed by the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine.

Acts 2017, No. 76, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; Acts 2018, No. 206, §4; Acts 2018, No. 219, §2.