Pain Medication: AHCA/NCAL Members Testify Before Senate Committee

VHCA (3/25/2010)

Members of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on March 24th to address delays with dispensing of critical pain medications for patients in nursing facilities, assisted living communities and hospice. These delays, which stem from recent Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) enforcement of outdated rules and regulations under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), were the focus of the Committee’s hearing.

AHCA/NCAL members highlighted the negative impact that the outdated rules are having on residents, their families and caregivers.  “Nurses, doctors, therapists and pharmacists are frustrated by recent changes to what has been standard care practice for decades, upon which many state regulations are based. Those of us in long term care are used to adapting to new rules and regulations; but, as caring compassionate health professionals, change that negatively impacts our patients is difficult to bear,” said Michael T Schanke, NHA of Wisconsin.

“Existing DEA regulations are difficult to comply with in our skilled nursing facility environment – particularly in light of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations under which we already operate.  Conflicting DEA and CMS regulations for skilled nursing facilities place SNFs in a difficult position.  On one hand, DEA regulations increase delays in the provision of needed medications.  On the other hand, CMS regulations require that skilled nursing facilities provide immediate care of the patients’ needs.  Compliance with both sets of regulations is challenging and, at times, impossible,” said GoldenLiving's VP of Pharmacy Robert R. Warnock.

“Certainly, long term care professionals understand and support the DEA’s role in preventing the diversion of controlled pharmaceuticals.  While we support DEA’s efforts to prevent the sale or theft of prescription medications to drug dealers or abusers and other types of drug diversion, we remain dumbfounded by rules and regulations that are the root cause of unimaginable, unacceptable delays in access to the pain medication patients in nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country need.”