State medical board adopts pain regulations

Monday, Feb. 28, 2000 | 10:53 a.m.

RENO -- The state Board of Medical Examiners has adopted a rule that will allow doctors to prescribe drugs to patients in great pain without fear of being disciplined.

"This allows physicians to treat without looking over their shoulders at Big Brother," Dr. Weldon Havins, a Las Vegas lawyer and opthalmologist, said.

The regulation, said Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association, provides a "safe haven" for physicians who want to use controlled substances to relieve the pain of their patients, including those who are close to dying.

The board, meeting Saturday, adopted the model guidelines of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States for the use of controlled substances for the treatment of pain, now in effect in several other states.

The proposed regulations do not limit the controlled substances that may be used or the amount that can be prescribed. The board will judge each case on its merits.

A law passed in 1995 allows physicians to prescribe drugs to reduce the intractable pain of patients, but a dispute between the medical board and the Legislative Counsel Bureau over language has delayed the rules.

Richard Legarza, the medical board's counsel, said he did not know if the Legislative Counsel Bureau would approve the new regulations. He said lawyers in the counsel bureau have told him there might be a conflict of interest.

As a backup, the board submitted amendments to the proposed regulations that have been submitted in the past but failed to gain approval.

The proposed rules won't require doctors to get written consent from the patients, but they are required to discuss the risks and benefits of the treatment first. Doctors must also do a thorough evaluation of the patient and develop a written treatment plan stating the goals of a powerful drug therapy.

Cy Ryan covers state government for the Sun. He can be reached at (775) 687-5032.