H2494 • 2025

An Act relative to emergency room procedure for prescribing or dispensing pain medication to certain persons on probation

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The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Joseph D. McKenna
Last action: 2026-03-16
Official status: Accompanied a study order, see H5234
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act relative to emergency room procedure for prescribing or dispensing pain medication to certain persons on probation

An Act relative to emergency room procedure for prescribing or dispensing pain medication to certain persons on probation By Representative McKenna of Sutton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

An Act relative to emergency room procedure for prescribing or dispensing pain medication to certain persons on probation By Representative McKenna of Sutton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
2494) of Joseph D.
McKenna relative to procedures for prescribing or dispensing pain medications in emergency rooms to certain persons on probation.
Public Health.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-03-16 House
Accompanied a study order, see H5234
2025-09-29 Joint
Hearing rescheduled to 09/29/2025 from 09:00 AM-11:30 PM in A-2 and Virtual Hearing updated to New End Time
2025-09-29 Joint
Hearing rescheduled to 09/29/2025 from 09:00 AM-11:30 AM in A-2 and Virtual Hearing updated to New End Time
2025-09-19 Joint
Hearing scheduled for 09/29/2025 from 09:00 AM-01:00 PM in A-2
2025-02-27 House
Referred to the committee on Public Health
2025-02-27 Senate
Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act relative to emergency room procedure for prescribing or dispensing pain medication to certain persons on probation
By Representative McKenna of Sutton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2494) of Joseph D. McKenna relative to procedures for prescribing or dispensing pain medications in emergency rooms to certain persons on probation. Public Health.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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Bill H.2494

Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 51 ½ the following section:-

Section 51 ¾.

As used in this section, “pain medication”

shall mean any opioid as defined in section 1 of chapter 94C, benzodiazepine, barbiturate or any other prescription medication for the treatment of pain that is likely to show up in the results of a urinalysis drug test.

A treating clinician, prior to prescribing or dispensing pain medication to a patient presenting in an acute-care hospital or satellite emergency facility as those terms are defined in section 52 ½ , shall ask said patient, to the extent possible , the following questions:

“Are you currently on probation?”

“Are you currently required to take court mandated drug tests as a condition of your probation?”

If the patient answers in the affirmative to both such questions, the treating clinician shall administer

a urinalysis drug test prior to the prescribing or dispensing of any pain medication.

The treating clinician shall inform the patient that the results of the drug test will be shared with the department of probation. If the patient answers in the negative to either question, or to both questions, the treating clinician shall not administer a drug test pursuant to this section.

If the patient answers in the affirmative to both such questions and submits to a drug test as required by this section, the treating clinician shall, in a timely manner, provide the department of probation with: (i) the patient’s name, (ii) the responses to the questions and results of the drug test administered pursuant to this section, and (iii) a copy of the prescription for any pain medication the clinician prescribed or dispensed.

This section shall not affect the treating clinician’s diagnosis and treatment of the patient, including the prescribing or dispensing of pain medication, and shall not prevent a treating clinician from dispensing pain medication as necessary to a patient in need of urgent medical treatment.

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