Ohio House Bill 253 (as introduced) covers a wide range of amendments and enactments across various chapters of the Ohio Revised Code, primarily focusing on healthcare professions, drug control, and criminal offenses related to drugs. The bill appears to aim at updating regulations, defining key terms, establishing new licensing categories, and outlining disciplinary actions for various healthcare practitioners.
II. Key Themes
Several overarching themes emerge from the excerpts:
- Regulation of Healthcare Professions: The bill extensively lists and defines various licensed healthcare professionals and outlines regulations related to their practice, particularly concerning drug handling and prescribing. There is a focus on licensing, disciplinary actions, and specific professional roles.
- Drug Control and Offenses: A significant portion of the excerpts is dedicated to defining drug-related terms, outlining prohibited activities concerning dangerous drugs and controlled substances, and establishing penalties for violations. This includes definitions of drug quantities, types of drug offenses, and specific substances.
- Licensing and Disciplinary Actions: The bill details the licensing requirements and processes for several professions, including respiratory care professionals and advanced practice respiratory therapists. It also outlines grounds for disciplinary action, such as felonies, misdemeanors, drug abuse offenses, and violations of professional standards.
- Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapists: The bill introduces and defines the role of “advanced practice respiratory therapist,” outlining their licensing, scope of practice, and limitations, particularly regarding prescribing controlled substances.
- Defining Key Terms: The bill provides numerous definitions for terms relevant to drug control, healthcare practice, and legal proceedings, ensuring clarity and consistency in the application of the law.
III. Most Important Ideas and Facts (with Quotes)
- Expansion of Defined Healthcare Professionals: The bill explicitly lists a wide array of licensed healthcare professionals across numerous chapters of the Revised Code. This indicates an effort to encompass various medical and health-related fields within the scope of potential regulatory changes.
- Quote Example: “(l) Respiratory care professionals and advanced practice respiratory therapists licensed under Chapter 4761. of the Revised Code;” (Pages 4-5, Lines 61-63)
- Quote Example: “A person licensed under Chapter 4729. of the Revised Code as a pharmacist or pharmacy intern or registered under that chapter as a registered pharmacy technician, certified pharmacy technician, or pharmacy technician trainee;” (Page 22, Lines 623-628)
- Detailed Definitions of Drug-Related Terms: The excerpts provide specific definitions for crucial terms like “dangerous drug,” “drug abuse offense,” “felony drug abuse offense,” “harmful intoxicant,” “manufacture,” “possess,” “sample drug,” “counterfeit controlled substance,” and various drug substances like “cocaine,” “L.S.D.,” “hashish,” and “marihuana.” These definitions are fundamental to understanding the scope of the drug control provisions.
- Quote: “Dangerous drug” means any of the following: (1) Any drug to which either of the following applies: (a) Under the “Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,” 52 Stat. 1040 (1938), 21 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended, the drug is required to bear a label containing the legend “Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription” or “Caution:…” (Page 60, Lines 1687-1693)
- Quote: “”Drug abuse offense” means any of the following: (1) A violation of division (A) of section 2913.02 that constitutes theft of drugs, or a violation of section 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.041, 2925.05, 2925.06, 2925.11, 2925.12, 2925.13, 2925.22, 2925.23, 2925.24, 2925.31, 2925.32, 2925.36, or 2925.37 of the Revised Code;” (Page 16, Lines 424-431)
- Quote: “”Possess” or “possession” means having control over a thing or substance, but may not be inferred solely from mere access to the thing or substance through ownership or occupation of the premises upon which the thing or substance is found.” (Page 17, Lines 473-478)
- Regulation of Illegal Drug Document Processing: The bill explicitly prohibits and penalizes the intentional making, uttering, selling, or knowing possession of false or forged drug-related documents such as prescriptions, uncompleted prescription blanks, official written orders, and licenses for terminal distributors of dangerous drugs. Penalties vary based on the type of drug involved.
- Quote: “(B) No person shall intentionally make, utter, or sell, or knowingly possess any of the following that is a false or forged: (1) Prescription; (2) Uncompleted preprinted prescription blank used for writing a prescription; (3) Official written order; (4) License for a terminal distributor of dangerous drugs,” (Page 31, Lines 854-862)
- Quote: “(F) Whoever violates this section is guilty of illegal processing of drug documents. If the offender violates division (B)(2), (4), or (5) or division (C)(2), (4), (5), or (6) of this section, illegal processing of drug documents is a felony of the fifth degree.” (Page 32, Lines 908-914)
- Limitations on Pseudoephedrine and Ephedrine Sales: The bill imposes limits on the amount of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products that can be received or accepted by an individual within specific timeframes, unless dispensed by a pharmacist pursuant to a valid prescription.
- Quote: “(B) No individual shall receive or accept more than either of the following within the period of time described in division (E) of this section, unless the pseudoephedrine product or ephedrine product is dispensed by a pharmacist pursuant to a valid prescription issued by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs and the conduct of the pharmacist and the licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs is in accordance with Chapter 3719., 4715., 4723., 4729., 4730., 4731., or 4741., or 4761. of the Revised Code: (a) Three and six tenths grams within a period of a single day; (b) Nine grams within a period of thirty consecutive days.” (Page 37, Lines 1004-1017)
- Defining “Prescription” and “Licensed Health Professional Authorized to Prescribe Drugs”: The bill provides a detailed definition of a “prescription,” including various forms (written, electronic, oral) and specific contexts, such as prescriptions for sexual partners or for schools/camps. It also clearly lists the individuals who qualify as a “licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs” or “prescriber.”
- Quote: “”Prescription” means all of the following: (1) A written, electronic, or oral order for drugs or combinations or mixtures of drugs to be used by a particular individual or for treating a particular animal, issued by a licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs;” (Page 61, Lines 1714-1720)
- Quote: “”Licensed health professional authorized to prescribe drugs” or “prescriber” means an individual who is authorized by law to prescribe drugs or dangerous drugs or drug therapy related devices in the course of the individual’s professional practice, including only the following:…” (Page 62, Lines 1742-1747)
- Regulation of Wholesale and Retail Sales of Dangerous Drugs: The bill outlines regulations for the sale and distribution of dangerous drugs, distinguishing between wholesale and retail sales and specifying who is authorized to engage in these activities (e.g., licensed terminal distributors, manufacturers, wholesale distributors).
- Quote: “(E)(1) Except as provided in division (E)(2) of this section, no person shall do any of the following: (a) Sell or distribute, at retail, dangerous drugs; (b) Possess for sale, at retail, dangerous drugs; (c) Possess dangerous drugs. (2)(a) Divisions (E)(1)(a), (b), and (c) of this section do not apply to any of the following: (i) A licensed terminal distributor of dangerous drugs; (ii) A person who possesses, or possesses for sale or sells, at retail, a dangerous drug in accordance with Chapters 3719., 4715., 4723., 4725., 4729., 4730., 4731., and 4741., and…” (Page 70, Lines 1973-1988)
- Grounds for Disciplinary Action Against Licensees: The bill provides extensive lists of grounds for disciplinary action (suspension, revocation, refusal to renew, etc.) for various licensed professionals, including physicians (Chapter 4731) and respiratory care professionals/advanced practice respiratory therapists (Chapter 4761). These grounds often include convictions for felonies and misdemeanors (particularly those related to practice or moral turpitude), drug abuse offenses, violations of professional standards, and impairment due to substance abuse or mental illness.
- Quote Example (Physicians): “(3) Except as provided in section 4731.97 of the Revised Code, selling, giving away, personally furnishing, prescribing, or administering drugs for other than legal and legitimate therapeutic purposes or a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or a judicial finding of eligibility for…” (Page 74, Lines 2107-2114)
- Quote Example (Physicians): “(10) Commission of an act that constitutes a felony in this state, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the act was committed;” (Page 75, Lines 2119-2121)
- Quote Example (Respiratory Care): “(1) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of conviction for, a felony;” (Page 135, Lines 3833-3836)
- Quote Example (Respiratory Care): “(7) Except when civil penalties are imposed under section 4761.091 of the Revised Code, violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the violation of, or conspiring to violate, any provision of this…” (Page 136, Lines 3852-3857)
- Automatic License Suspension for Certain Serious Offenses: For respiratory care professionals and advanced practice respiratory therapists, a second or subsequent plea of guilty or judicial finding of guilt for violations related to sections 2919.123 or 2919.124 of the Revised Code results in an automatic suspension of their license for at least one year. Certain violent felony convictions also lead to automatic suspension.
- Quote: “…subsequent plea of guilty to, or judicial finding of guilt of, a violation of section 2919.123 or 2919.124 of the Revised Code, the disciplinary action shall consist of a suspension of the individual’s license or certificate to practice for a period of at least one year or, if determined appropriate by the board, a more serious sanction involving the individual’s license or certificate to practice.” (Page 87, Lines 2472-2480)
- Quote: “…lieu of conviction in another jurisdiction for any of the following criminal offenses in this state or a substantially equivalent criminal offense in another jurisdiction: aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault, trafficking in persons, kidnapping, rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, aggravated arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary.” (Page 147, Lines 4210-4218)
- Establishment of Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist Role: The bill creates a licensing framework for “advanced practice respiratory therapists,” defining their scope of practice and explicitly stating limitations, notably prohibiting them from prescribing controlled substances.
- Quote: “Sec. 4761.31. There is hereby created the license to practice as an advanced practice respiratory therapist.” (Page 155, Lines 4462-4463)
- Quote: “(H) No person practicing as an advanced practice respiratory therapist shall prescribe controlled substances.” (Page 157, Lines 4511-4513)
IV. Potential Implications/Next Steps
The breadth of the changes suggests a comprehensive update to Ohio’s laws concerning healthcare licensing and drug control. Further analysis would be needed to understand the specific impact of each amendment and enactment. However, the clear definitions and outlined disciplinary actions indicate an effort to strengthen regulation and enforcement in these areas. The introduction of the “advanced practice respiratory therapist” role represents a new professional category with defined responsibilities and limitations.
This briefing document provides a high-level overview of the key themes and important provisions found in the provided excerpts of Ohio House Bill 253. A complete review of the full bill is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of all proposed changes.convert_to_textConvert to source