S.B. 302 - Summary

• Creates immunity from criminal, civil, and professional liability for health care professionals who prescribe, dispense, or distribute opioid antagonists (such as naloxone) in good faith to individuals at risk of overdose or those positioned to assist them.

• Grants immunity from criminal prosecution and civil liability to any person who administers an opioid antagonist in good faith to someone believed to be experiencing an opioid-related overdose.

• Authorizes all emergency medical technicians licensed in Hawaii to administer opioid antagonists by January 1, 2016.

• Requires medicaid coverage for naloxone hydrochloride for outpatient use and exempts organizations storing and dispensing opioid antagonists under standing orders from pharmacy licensure requirements.

• Mandates the Department of Health establish education and training programs on drug overdose prevention, recognition, and response, including naloxone administration, and publish annual reports on unintentional overdose fatalities and prevention interventions; appropriates funds for fiscal years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.