COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich has announced new rules for monitoring the prescribing of painkillers to patients suffering chronic pain.
The rules announced Wednesday by the Republican governor apply to the treatment of patients with sub-acute pain, a type of pain lasting between six and 12 weeks, and long-term pain, lasting 12 weeks or more.
The rules establish methods for assessing the use of medication based on the strength of prescriptions. It doesn't affect patients who are dying or being treated in hospitals.
The governor has been pushing prescribing limits in recent years to battle Ohio's addiction crisis, which led to a record 4,050 overdose deaths in 2016.
Restrictions enacted last year set limits for doctors prescribing narcotic pain pills for acute pain typically caused by an injury or illness.
