(A) A prescriber acting in good faith and exercising reasonable care may directly or by standing order prescribe an opioid antidote to a community distributor for the purpose of distributing the opioid antidote to:
(1) a person at risk of experiencing an opiate-related overdose; or
(2) a caregiver of a person at risk of experiencing an opiate-related overdose.
(B) A pharmacist may dispense an opioid antidote to a community distributor pursuant to a prescription or standing order issued in accordance with this section.
(C)(1) A community distributor acting in good faith may distribute an opioid antidote:
(a) obtained pursuant to a written prescription or standing order issued in accordance with this section; and
(b) pursuant to a written joint protocol issued by the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Pharmacy.
(2) Not later than six months after passage of this act, the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Pharmacy must issue a written joint protocol to authorize a community distributor to distribute an opioid antidote without a patient-specific written order or prescription to a person at risk of experiencing an opioid-related overdose or to a caregiver of such a person, and without the requirement for a pharmacist to dispense the opioid antidote.
(3) The Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Pharmacy must appoint an advisory committee to advise and assist in the development of the joint protocol for their consideration. The membership of the committee must include, but not be limited to, a representative of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, a representative of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and health care professionals licensed in the State.
(4) For purposes of this subsection, "caregiver" means a person who is not at risk of an opioid overdose but who, in the judgment of the community distributor, may be in a position to assist another individual during an overdose.
(D) A community distributor that distributes an opioid antidote in accordance with the provisions of this section is not as a result of an act or omission subject to civil or criminal liability.
HISTORY: 2018 Act No. 169 (H.4600), Section 1, eff May 3, 2018.
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