IL SR1281

Urges the Department of Human Services and the Governor's Opioid Overdose Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee to consider funding FDA-authorized prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) for patients with substance use and opioid use disorders.

Notes that Illinois faces historically high rates of opioid overdoses and overdose-related fatalities, with associated public health consequences including infectious diseases, lost workplace productivity, crime, and homelessness.

Cites clinical studies showing significantly greater odds of stimulant and opioid abstinence when treatment combines FDA-authorized PDTs with cognitive behavioral therapy and contingency management.

Identifies that prescription digital therapeutics can improve healthcare delivery to underserved populations by overcoming barriers related to geography, socioeconomic status, and institutional distrust.

References the White House's 2022 National Drug Control Strategy document, which recommends prescription digital therapeutics as tools to increase treatment services, and notes that federally-funded programs in other states already support access to these technologies.