Amid opioid epidemic, New York eases access to detox services

ALBANY — New York is taking new actions in the fight against the deadly and growing opioid epidemic.

Individuals addicted to the powerful drugs should have an easier time accessing detox services, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office announced Thursday, as the state Department of Health and the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) provide hospitals with a temporary waiver expanding the detox services they can provide.

Previously, hospitals could only set aside a maximum of five beds for detox, and could not have more than 10 percent of patients receiving detox services without having a specific license from OASAS. The new waiver allows hospitals to go above those limits without the need for a new operating certificate, so long as the hospital notifies both DOH and OASAS of its plans.

The waiver will expire at the end of the year, when both agencies will evaluate the need for an extension.

New York passed legislation in 2012 requiring doctors who planned to prescribe a controlled substance to check a new prescription monitoring program that would inform them if their patient had accessed such substances from practitioners elsewhere in the state — a phenomenon known as "doctor shopping." The program would be doubly effective, experts knew, if doctors could access prescription histories in other states as well — especially border states.

In April 2016, New York began sharing and exchanging controlled substance prescription information with New Jersey. On Thursday, Cuomo announced this program had expanded to include 25 states and Washington, D.C., giving practitioners access to the controlled substance histories of nearly 150 million patients.

"The (Health) Department's goal is to be interoperable with as many states as possible," said department spokeswoman Jill Montag. "However, progress can be limited by other states' laws and their technological capability to connect with us through existing hubs."

New York has reduced the number of "doctor shopping" incidents in the state by over 98 percent since the legislation went into effect.

In addition, investigators with the Department of Health's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, who are often on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, will be trained to carry and administer naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose.

These investigators are responsible for enforcing the state's Controlled Substances Act and regulations, working with law enforcement, health professionals and others to investigate suspicious drug activities in a variety of settings.