“The Massachusetts Medical
Society is grateful for the opportunity to have worked with both the
House and the Senate on Gov. Baker’s CARE bill, and we appreciate the
governor’s continued support, leadership and commitment to saving lives.
Throughout the process,
Gov. Baker and the Legislature struck a balance between the urgent need
to propose and advance solutions to curtail the opioid crisis, and
ensuring that those solutions remain thoughtful, measured and
evidence-based.
“We are pleased that included are provisions strengthening the statewide
standing order for naloxone, funding for physician education relative
to opioid use disorder and pain management and improving the
effectiveness of the partial-fill of prescription opioids.
Likewise, we commend the Legislature for its efforts to avoid potential
pitfalls related to electronic prescribing of opioids by allowing for
flexibility in situations where outdated federal regulations create
logistical hurdles.
“Evidence shows opioid-related overdose death rate in Massachusetts is
120 times higher for individuals recently incarcerated, and that is
simply unacceptable because many of those deaths could be prevented. The
Medical Society has long supported ensuring access
to all appropriate medication-assisted treatment for those who are
suffering from substance use disorder while in jails and prisons. We’re
encouraged that the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association has embraced
this opportunity and that steps will be taken toward
treating some among this vulnerable population with medication-assisted
treatment. We’re hopeful that the three-year pilot will save lives and
compel the Commonwealth to expand access to treatment for all inmates
struggling with substance use disorder.
“The Medical Society supported a proposal that would have given
authorization to the Department of Public Health to establish a
supervised injection facility. We appreciate the compromise of
commissioning a study on the efficacy and impact of supervised injection
facilities and the display of good faith and a willingness to consider
evidence gathered from our 2017 report on SIFs.
“We hold a steadfast belief that the forthcoming study will confirm our
own findings: that supervised injection facilities foster harm
reduction, reduce deaths from opioid overdose and disease transmission,
and open pathways to medically appropriate resources
for treatment and recovery. We look forward to bringing our review of
the research to this study, and we’re confident that it will lead to the
state’s establishing of a pilot SIF, under the auspices of the DPH.
“The Medical Society will continue to be an engaged partner of Gov.
Baker and the Legislature as we work together on this public health
crisis to reduce loss of life, stigma and barriers to treatment and
recovery.”
