Last week the Arizona Attorney General certified new emergency rules established by the state health department to address the ongoing opioid epidemic. The regulations apply to the facilities that the agency regulates like skilled nursing facilities, outpatient treatment clinics, hospitals and the like.
Basically, the new regulations require the health care facilities that they license to adopt and implement policies and procedures relating to the prescribing and administration of opioids. There are a few webinars scheduled to help facilities understand & implement the new regulations. The ADHS also began expanded blood screening for suspected opioid overdose cases in order to better characterize the epidemic.
