S-3789.1

SENATE BILL 6391


State of Washington	65th Legislature	2018 Regular Session

By Senator Miloscia

AN ACT Relating to creating a comprehensive opioid treatment oversight system; adding new sections to chapter 43.70 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that there is an opioid epidemic and it is in the best interests of the people of the state of Washington to break down funding and treatment silos to ensure the best possible outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. The legislature further finds there is a lack of coordination over opioid misuse disorder resources, treatments, and services. It is the intent of the legislature to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of treatment, which begins with identifying ineffective intervention and treatment efforts and ends with the successful outcome of abstinence. For this reason, the legislature intends to create a comprehensive drug treatment oversight system and to establish a drug czar to assist with coordination of ongoing and future prevention efforts, making recommendations for improved coordination of efforts by entities with overlapping service areas, and sharing of best practices. The legislature further intends for the drug czar to establish an opioid treatment information system to track the performance of individuals and treatments in our drug treatment system.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The governor shall appoint a drug czar within the department to coordinate state and local opioid misuse and overdose prevention efforts in the state, establish an opioid treatment information system, and develop recommendations for increasing treatment on-demand services.

(a) By December 31, 2018, the drug czar, in collaboration with the governor's office, shall create a five year state opioid prevention plan for addressing opioid misuse and overdose prevention efforts. The state opioid prevention plan shall include, but is not limited to:

(i) An outline of existing prevention efforts in the state;

(ii) A catalogue of current funding levels and sources;

(iii) A model for the drug czar to actively coordinate ongoing and future prevention efforts through operation and utilization of the opioid treatment information system established in section 3 of this act;

(iv) Recommendations for better coordinating efforts by entities with overlapping service areas; and

(v) A model for actively sharing best practices.

(b) By December 31, 2018, the drug czar shall provide the five year state opioid prevention plan to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the legislature.

(3) The drug czar shall semiannually confer representatives of:

(a) The governor's office;

(b) The department;

(d) The health care authority;

(e) The state board of health;

(f) Local boards of health;

(g) Accountable communities of health; and

(h) Any other local, state, or national entities undertaking opioid misuse or overdose prevention efforts.

(4) Beginning December 31, 2019, and each December 31st thereafter, the drug czar must provide an opioid misuse and overdose prevention report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the legislature, to include:

(a) Information about new and ongoing efforts at the local, state, and federal levels;

(b) Any best practices that were created or shared in the preceding year;

(c) Data on treatment programs and overdose rates, aggregated from the opioid treatment information system established in section 3 of this act;

(d) Recommendations on how to expand treatment to on-demand services; and

(e) Recommendations on how to better coordinate, expand, or fund specific organizations, programs, or services.

(5) The drug czar may hire additional staff as necessary to implement this section.

(6) The drug czar serves a term of five years. The successors of a drug czar initially appointed must be appointed by the governor to serve for a term of five years except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of any term shall be appointed only for the remainder of the term. The drug czar shall serve until a successor is appointed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The drug czar shall implement an opioid treatment information system for the ongoing collection and updates of information about opioid use, misuse, and treatment in the state.

(2) Information about opioid use, misuse, and treatment shall come from the department, the health care authority, providers, and city and county governments. Data shall be collected in real-time on an ongoing basis following initiation of treatment.

(3) The drug czar must establish standards for either obtaining informed consent or keeping individual identifying information confidential, in compliance with state and federal health care information privacy requirements.

(4) The opioid treatment information system must serve as an online information and tracking system to enable the state apple health program, city and county governments, and providers to connect individuals seeking treatment for opioid use and misuse and analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of treatment.

(5) The information in the opioid treatment information system will also provide the drug czar with the information to consolidate and analyze data about the extent and nature of opioid use, misuse, and treatment in Washington state, giving emphasis to information about the effectiveness and efficiency of treatment from identification of use until abstinence.

(6) The system may be merged with other data gathering and reporting systems and must:

(a) Protect the right of privacy of individuals;

(b) Provide for consultation and collaboration with all relevant state agencies including the health care authority, experts, and community organizations involved in the delivery of opioid use and misuse treatment services; and

(7) For purposes of this section, "drug czar" means the drug czar established in section 2 of this act.

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