35 Pa.C.S. Ch. 51

in effect

35 Pa.C.S. § 5101 Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "College." Any of the following: (1) A medical college. (2) A medical training facility, including a school of nursing and a school of optometry. (3) A dental school. (4) An osteopathic medical college or osteopathic medical training facility. "Controlled substance." A drug, substance or immediate precursor included in Schedules II through V of section 4 of the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act. "Licensing boards." The following: (1) The State Board of Dentistry. (2) The State Board of Medicine. (3) The State Board of Nursing. (4) The State Board of Optometry. (5) The State Board of Osteopathic Medicine. (6) The State Board of Podiatry. "Opioid." Any of the following: (1) A preparation or derivative of opium. (2) A synthetic narcotic that has opiate-like effects but is not derived from opium. (3) A group of naturally occurring peptides that bind at or otherwise influence opiate receptors, including an opioid agonist.

35 Pa.C.S. § 5102 Safe opioid prescription education.

(a) Curriculum.--Beginning August 1, 2017, the licensing boards shall, by joint regulation, implement a safe prescription of a controlled substance containing an opioid curriculum. The curriculum may be offered in colleges or by providers approved by the licensing boards and shall include all of the following: (1) Current, age-appropriate information relating to pain management. (2) Multimodal treatments for chronic pain that minimize the use of a controlled substance containing an opioid. (3) If a controlled substance containing an opioid is indicated, instruction on safe methods of prescribing a controlled substance containing an opioid that follow guideline-based care. (4) Identification of patients who have risk factors for developing problems with prescription of a controlled substance containing an opioid. (5) Training on managing substance use disorders as a chronic disease. (b) Separation from standardized curriculum.--The education required under this chapter shall not be considered to be a mandate of the curriculum necessary for graduation. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit a college from requiring such curriculum to be necessary to graduate after August 1, 2017.

35 Pa.C.S. § 5103 Temporary regulations.

In order to facilitate the prompt implementation of this chapter, each licensing board may issue temporary regulations. The following shall apply: (1) The temporary regulations shall expire no later than two years after their issuance. (2) The temporary regulations issued by each licensing board shall not be subject to: (i) Sections 201, 202 and 203 of the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.769, No.240), referred to as the Commonwealth Documents Law. (ii) The act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181), known as the Regulatory Review Act.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=35Fetched: 10/16/2026