Senate passes Jessie's Law

The Senate today approved by unanimous consent legislation (S. 581) that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate best practices for displaying a patient’s history of opioid use disorders in their medical records. The bill would require HHS to consult with appropriate stakeholders in developing the best practices, and the patient’s opioid use history would only be displayed at his or her request. Named Jessie’s Law for a recovering addict who died of an opioid overdose when her discharging physician, unaware of her medical history, prescribed oxycodone, the legislation was introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) have introduced similar legislation (H.R. 1554) in the House.