SB86 - Patient Opiate Risk Education Act

• Requires each controlled substances certifying board in Alabama to adopt rules requiring practitioners to provide opiate risk education to patients before prescribing controlled substances.

• Opiate risk education must include information on addiction and overdose risks, dangers of mixing opioids with alcohol and benzodiazepines, reasons for the prescription, alternative treatments available, and risks of dependency even when taken as prescribed.

• Allows practitioners to require written patient acknowledgement that the patient understands the risks of physical or psychological dependence, with parent/guardian consent required for patients under 18 years old.

• Requires each certifying board to develop and post a sample patient acknowledgement form on its website; prohibits the bill from requiring practitioners to maintain written records of opiate risk education.

• Clarifies that these rules do not constitute medical practice standards or evidence in civil actions, and do not affect existing medical liability laws; becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage.