FL H1073

Health care practitioners must refer or prescribe nonpharmaceutical intervention therapies (acupuncture, osteopathic services, chiropractic services, occupational therapy, or massage therapy) before prescribing opioids for chronic nonmalignant pain, based on clinical judgment and treatment availability.

Licensed massage therapists must maintain and submit treatment records and patient progress reports to the referring or prescribing practitioner.

Insurance providers must cover at least 20 visits per referral or prescription for nonpharmaceutical intervention therapies, with deductibles and co-pays no greater than primary care visits, and patients may seek these therapies without a practitioner's referral.

Practitioners may prescribe opioids before all nonpharmaceutical therapies are exhausted and may simultaneously prescribe opioids and refer alternative therapies; exemptions apply to anesthesiologists, physiatrists, rheumatologists, neurologists, surgeons, and pain medicine specialists.

Applicable professional boards must adopt rules for referring and prescribing nonpharmaceutical therapies and controlled substances for acute pain, with failure to follow guidelines constituting grounds for disciplinary action; bill takes effect July 1, 2019.