42 U.S.C. § 294i–1 — Emergency department alternatives to opioids program

(a) Grant program: (1) In general: The Secretary of Health and Human Services must run a program awarding grants to hospitals and emergency departments, including freestanding ones, to develop, run, improve, or study alternatives to opioids for pain management in these settings. (2) Eligibility: A hospital or emergency department applies to the Secretary in the form, manner, and timeframe the Secretary requires. (3) Geographic distribution: The Secretary must try to spread grants across different geographic areas. (4) Use of funds: Grants must be used to (A) target treatment approaches for painful conditions commonly treated in these settings; (B) train providers and staff on protocols and best practices for using and prescribing opioids and opioid alternatives; and (C) develop or continue strategies to offer alternatives to opioids, as appropriate. (b) Additional program: The Secretary may run a similar demonstration program for other acute care settings besides emergency departments. (c) Consultation: The Secretary must set up a process for grantees under subsection (a) or (b) to share evidence-based and best practices, and to consult with people who have deep knowledge — including emergency departments and doctors who have successfully run programs using opioid alternatives, such as approaches studied through the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health or other National Institutes of Health institutes and centers, as appropriate. The Secretary must offer technical assistance to each grantee under subsection (a) or (b), as needed. (d) Technical assistance: The Secretary must identify or help develop best practices on opioid alternatives for pain management, and give technical assistance to hospitals and other acute care settings on those alternatives. This assistance is meant to (1) use information from grantees under subsection (a) or (b) that have successfully run opioid alternative programs; (2) identify or help develop best practices on using opioid alternatives, which may include strategies using non-addictive medical products, non-drug treatments, and technologies or techniques to identify patients at risk for opioid use disorder; (3) identify or help develop best practices on opioid alternatives targeting common painful conditions and certain patient groups, such as older adults, pregnant women, and children; and (4) share information on opioid alternatives with providers in acute care settings, which may include emergency departments, outpatient clinics, critical access hospitals, federally qualified health centers, Indian Health Service facilities, and tribal hospitals. (e) Report to the Secretary: Each grantee must submit annual reports to the Secretary, during the grant period, on the program's progress, following applicable state and federal privacy laws. The reports must include (1) a description and specific information about the opioid alternative pain management programs run in hospitals, emergency departments, and other acute care settings, including patient demographic characteristics; (2) data on the opioid alternative pain management strategies used, including opioid prescriptions written during a baseline period before the program began, and at various stages of the program; (3) data on patients eventually prescribed opioids after alternative pain management protocols and treatments were tried; and (4) any other information the Secretary requires. (f) Reports to Congress: By the end of fiscal years 2024 and 2027, the Secretary must submit a report to the Senate health committee and the House energy and commerce committee on the program's results, including (1) the number of applications received and the number funded; (2) a summary of the reports described in subsection (e), allowing comparison across programs; and (3) recommendations for broader use of pain management strategies that encourage opioid alternatives in hospitals, emergency departments, or other acute care settings. (g) Authorization of appropriations: Congress authorized $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.