The Basics of the STOP Act of North Carolina

With the opioid epidemic taking over just about every corner of the country, North Carolina Legislatures passed a bill called STOP to help prevent narcotic addictions in medical patients. STOP or The Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act of 2017 is designed to help both doctors and patients in the fight against the misuse of opioids. Let’s take a closer look at some of the details of this bill.

Opioid prescribing consultants

Under this law, both nurse practitioners and physicians assistants are required to advise with their supervising physician before prescribing any sorts of narcotics to patients. Additionally, they are also required to revisit with the supervising doctor for prescription refill requests after 90 to make sure that the prescription is still warranted.

Limits the Number of Opioids that Can be Prescribed

Another thing that STOP does is it limits the amount of opioids that can be prescribed to a patient upon an initial consultation. Specifically, patients can only legally be prescribed no more than a 5-day supply for acute injuries and a 7-day supply for surgeries.

Review Patients 12-Month History

Another thing that STOP requires from physicians is to review a patient’s 12-month medical and prescription history for any prior misuse of opioids or narcotics.

As always, Dr. John Moore and our staff are compliant with all of the STOP regulations, requirements, and guidelines. If you have any questions about the STOP Act and our compliance with it, contact us at our office and call 910.295.0224.