1. Before prescribing a controlled substance listed in schedule II, III or IV to continue the treatment of pain of a patient who has used the controlled substance for 90 consecutive days or more, a practitioner, other than a veterinarian, must:

(a) Require the patient to complete an assessment of the patient’s risk for abuse, dependency and addiction that has been validated through peer-reviewed scientific research;

(b) Conduct an investigation, including, without limitation, appropriate hematological and radiological studies, to determine an evidence-based diagnosis for the cause of the pain;

(c) Meet with the patient, in person or using telehealth, to review the treatment plan established pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 1 of NRS 639.23911 to determine whether continuation of treatment using the controlled substance is medically appropriate; and

(d) If the patient has been prescribed a dose of 90 morphine milligram equivalents or more of an opioid per day for 90 days or longer, consider referring the patient to a specialist.

2. If, after conducting a review of the treatment plan and considering referral of the patient to a specialist pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection 1, the practitioner decides to continue to prescribe a dose of 90 morphine milligram equivalents or more of the opioid per day, the practitioner must develop and document in the medical record of the patient a revised treatment plan, which must include, without limitation, an assessment of the increased risk for adverse outcomes.

3. For the purposes of this section, the daily dose of a controlled substance must be calculated in accordance with the most recent guidelines prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

(Added to NRS by 2017, 4432)