§386-29 Qualifying injured employees; initial concurrent prescriptions; opioids and benzodiazepines. (a) Initial concurrent prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines shall not be for longer than seven consecutive days unless a supply of longer than seven days is determined to be reasonably needed for the treatment of:

(1) Pain experienced while the qualifying injured employee is in post-operative care;

(2) Chronic pain and pain management;

(3) Substance abuse or opioid or opiate dependence;

(4) Cancer;

(5) Pain experienced while the qualifying injured employee is in palliative care; or

(6) Pain experienced while the qualifying injured employee is in hospice care;

provided that if a health care provider authorized to prescribe opioids issues a concurrent prescription for more than a seven-day supply of an opioid and benzodiazepine, the health care provider shall document in the qualifying injured employee's medical record the condition for which the health care provider issued the prescription and that an alternative to the opioid and benzodiazepine was not appropriate treatment for the condition.

(b) After an initial concurrent prescription for opioids and benzodiazepines has been made, a health care provider authorized to prescribe opioids may authorize subsequent prescriptions through a telephone consultation with the qualifying injured employee when the health care provider deems such action to be reasonably needed for post-operative care and pain management; provided that the health care provider shall consult with a qualifying injured employee in person at least once every ninety days for the duration during which the health care provider concurrently prescribes opioids and benzodiazepines to the qualifying injured employee.

(c) For the purposes of this section, "qualifying injured employee" has the same meaning as in section 386-28. [L 2018, c 155, pt of §2]