|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
816 |
|
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 |
H.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
S.D. 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
The
legislature further finds that national data, including a 2023 study published
in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, demonstrate that the administration of
buprenorphine by trained emergency medical services personnel following
naloxone can significantly reduce withdrawal symptoms and increase the
likelihood of patients engaging in opioid use disorder treatment within thirty
days.
The
legislature recognizes the department of health's concern that it is essential
to ensure that patients who receive buprenorphine in the field have access to
follow-up treatment within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The legislature therefore intends to
establish a two-year phased pilot program, limited initially to paramedics in one
county with a population of one hundred thousand or less.
The
purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Authorize paramedics, under department of
health‑approved protocols, to administer buprenorphine following naloxone
in cases of suspected opioid overdose;
(2) Require the department of health to verify and
designate treatment centers that can accept patients within twenty-four to
forty-eight hours of an emergency medical services encounter;
(3) Implement the program as a phased pilot
program beginning in one county with a population of one hundred thousand or
less; and
(4) Require the department to evaluate the program
and report outcomes to the legislature.
SECTION
2. Section 329E-3, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§329E-3[]] Opioid antagonist administration; emergency
personnel and first responders. (a) Beginning on January 1, 2017, every emergency
medical technician licensed and registered in [Hawaii] the State
and all law enforcement officers, firefighters, and lifeguards shall be
authorized to administer an opioid antagonist as clinically indicated.
(b) Beginning July 1, 2026, in a county with a
population of one hundred thousand or less, paramedics licensed in the State
may administer buprenorphine, under protocols established by the department of
health and approved by the chief of the emergency medical services and injury
prevention branch of the department of health, after administering an opioid
antagonist to a patient experiencing an opioid-related overdose; provided that:
(1) The paramedic has completed training in
opioid withdrawal assessment and buprenorphine administration approved by the
department of health;
(2) The patient is alert, has regained decision-making
capacity, and meets the clinical criteria for buprenorphine field initiation,
as defined by the protocol;
(3) A same-day or next-day referral is made to
a designated treatment provider authorized by the department of health; and
(4) Documentation of the administration,
withdrawal assessment, and referral is submitted to the department of health for
program evaluation.
(c)
The department of health shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to:
(1) Establish clinical and operational
protocols for administration of buprenorphine in the field by paramedics;
(2) Designate and maintain a list of treatment
centers and providers capable of accepting referred patients within twenty-four
to forty-eight hours; and
(3) Ensure coordination between emergency
medical services, emergency departments, and substance use disorder treatment
programs."
SECTION
3. The department of health shall:
(1) Implement a two-year phased pilot program to
implement section 329E-3(b) and (c), Hawaii Revised Statutes, beginning in a
county with a population of one hundred thousand or less and may expand
statewide as additional treatment resources become available;
(2) Provide or contract for the training of
paramedics in the assessment, administration, and documentation of
buprenorphine field initiation; and
(3) Submit a report to the legislature no later
than twenty months after the pilot program's start date, which shall contain an
evaluation of:
(A) The number of patients treated under the pilot
program;
(B) Withdrawal symptom outcomes;
(C) Rates of engagement with follow‑up
treatment;
(D) Any operational challenges or recommendations
for statewide expansion; and
(E) Any proposed legislation.
SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the department of health to implement the pilot program pursuant to this Act.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION
5. Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken. New statutory
material is underscored.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that section 4 shall take effect on July 1, 2026; provided further that on June 30, 2028, sections 2 and 3 of this Act shall be repealed and section 329E-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the day prior to the effective date of this Act.
Report Title:
Hawaii State Association of Counties Package; DOH; Paramedics; Buprenorphine; Opioid Overdose; Pilot Program; Report; Appropriation
Description:
Authorizes licensed paramedics in a county with a population of 100,000 or less to administer buprenorphine after administration of an opioid antagonist in cases of opioid overdoses, under certain conditions. Requires the Department of Health to implement a two-year phased pilot program beginning in one county with a population of 100,000 or less and authorizes expansion of the program statewide as additional treatment resources become available. Requires a report to the Legislature evaluating program outcomes. Appropriates funds. Sunsets 6/30/2028. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.