As part of our ongoing review of the ever-growing liability of healthcare providers in relation to the opioid crisis, below is an overview of the most recent opioid related legislation in Maryland.

A New Form of Opioid Liability: Will Big Pharma Be The Next Tobacco Industry

Liability of Healthcare Providers in the Wake of Maryland’s Opioid Crisis)

Effective October 1, 2018, amendments to Md. Code Ann. Health Occupations §1-223, mandates additional requirements for healthcare providers pertaining to the prescription of opioids and co-prescribed benzodiazepine. Specifically, the amended statute requires health care providers, in addition to the already required guidelines, to advise patients of the benefits and risks associated with the opioid being prescribed and, in the event opioids and benzodiazepines are prescribed together, advise of the benefits and risks associated with the benzodiazepine and the benzodiazepine with the opioid.