New opioid rules largely silent on veterinarian concerns

The state has released new rules for doctors, veterinarians and pharmacies in support of a state law designed to curb drug abuse by setting limits on opioid prescriptions. Veterinarians hoped the rules would address a host of concerns about their role in the policing of opioid prescriptions.They don’t.“There aren’t very many changes that I could see,” veterinarian Amanda Bisol, legislative chairwoman for the Maine Veterinary Medical Association and owner of Animal Medical Clinic in Skowhegan, said. At issue is Chapter 488, a law that strictly limits opioid prescriptions for chronic and acute pain, except for people with cancer, in hospice, receiving palliative care or using the medication for addiction treatment. It also requires that doctors, including vets, check the state’s prescription monitoring database before prescribing and refuse to write a prescription if the patient is over the new state-imposed limit.The law was passed last year as emergency legislation and went into effect Jan. 1.“We included veterinarians with the support and urging of physicians and other prescribers — because we know that opiate addicts are diverting drugs from their pets,” Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Samantha Edwards said.However, vets say it’s rare for people to take their pets’ pain medication, possibly because most pet prescriptions are written for a fraction of the amount a human would need to get high.