Statement of Scope
Medical Examining Board
Relating to
:
|
Continuing Medical Education for Prescribing Opioids
|
Rule Type
:
|
Emergency
and Permanent
|
1. Finding/nature of emergency (Emergency Rule only):
This rule will establish continuing education requirements for physicians relating to the prescription of opioid
s. These requirements will be another component to the current statewide initiatives addressing
prescription drug abuse, and are in the best interest of public health and safety.
As normal rule-making procedures will not allow these requirements to be established until 2017, an expeditious promulgation o
f this rule is needed to
ensure public health and safety.
2
.
Detailed description of the objective of the
proposed
rule
:
The objec
tive
of the proposed rule is to
promote best practices in the prescription of opioids
. The proposed rule would define
the requirements for the
completion of continuing
education
hours
relating to prescribing opioids as a portion of the biennial training requirements for physicians.
3
.
Description of the existing policies relevant to the rule, new policies proposed to be included in the rule, and an analysis of policy alternatives
:
Section
448.13
of the Wiscon
sin Statutes
requires the completion of at least 30 hours of continuing medical education for
biennial registration. Wisconsin Adm
inistrative Code Chapter
Med 13
more precisely defines
the requirements for continuing medical education
. The chapter lists
acceptable sources of
continuing
education, sets the
standards for evidence of compliance with
the requirements
, and allows the Board to waive and audit the completion of continuing education requirements
.
The proposed rule would define the requirements for
the completion of continuing education hours
specific to prescribing opioids.
The alternative to this rule change is to leave Chapter
Med 13
as written which does not address the growing concern with prescription drug abuse.
4
.
Detailed explanation of statutory authority for the rule
(including
the
statutory citation and language):
Section
15.08 (5) (b)
,
Stats.,
provides examining boards, “shall promulgate rules for its own guidance and for the guidance of the trade or profession to which it pertains. . .”
Section
227.11 (2) (a)
, Stats., sets forth the parameters of an agency’s rule-making authority, stating an agency, “may promulgate rules interpreting provisions of any statute enforced or administered by the agency. . .but a rule is not valid if the rule exceeds the bounds of correct interpretation.”
Section
448.40 (1)
, Stats., provides that the Medical Examining Board “may promulgate rules to carry out the purposes of this subchapter, including rules requiring the completion of continuing education, professional development, and maintenance of certification or performance improvement or continuing medical education programs for renewal of a license to practice medicine and surgery.”
5
.
Estimate of amount of time that state employees will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule
:
40 hours
6
.
List with description of all entities that
may
be affected by the proposed rule
:
Wisconsin licensed physicians
7
.
Summary and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule
:
None.
8
. Anticipated economic impact of implementing the rule
(note if the rule is likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses)
:
The proposed rule will have minimal to no economic impact on small businesses and the state’s economy as a whole.
