Controlled substances: opioid antagonists.

(1) Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) , which is responsible for the coordination and integration of all state agencies concerning emergency medical services. Under existing law, EMSA is required to establish training and standards, and promulgate regulations, for all prehospital emergency medical care personnel, as defined, regarding the characteristics and method of assessment and treatment of anaphylactic reactions and the use of epinephrine. Existing law also requires the EMSA to develop and adopt regulations for the training and scope of practice for emergency medical technician-I (EMT-I) certification, which includes, among other things, a specified course of training on the nature of sudden infant death syndrome. Existing law authorizes the medical director of a local EMS agency to approve or conduct any scientific or trial study of the efficacy of the prehospital emergency use of any drug, device, or treatment procedure within the local EMS system, utilizing any level of prehospital emergency medical care personnel, consistent with specified requirements. This bill would require the EMSA to develop and adopt training and standards, and promulgate regulations, for all prehospital emergency medical care personnel, as defined, regarding the use and administration of naloxone hydrochloride and other opioid antagonists. The bill would authorize the EMSA to adopt existing training and standards for prehospital emergency medical care personnel regarding the statewide use and administration of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to satisfy the requirements of the bill's provisions. The bill would also authorize the medical director of a local EMS agency, pursuant to the above-described provisions relating to a scientific or trial study, to approve or conduct a trial study of the use and administration of naloxone hydrochloride or other opioid antagonists by any level of prehospital emergency medical care personnel, and would authorize the training received by prehospital emergency medical care personnel specific to the use and administration of naloxone hydrochloride or other opioid antagonists during this trial study to be used towards satisfying the training requirements established by the EMSA pursuant to the bill's provisions. The bill would specify that both of those types of trainings satisfy specified requirements allowing for immunity from criminal and civil liability for administering an opioid antagonist. The bill would also require the EMSA to develop and adopt regulations to include the administration of naloxone hydrochloride in the training and scope of practice of EMT-I certification, on or before July 1, 2016. The bill would require these regulations to be substantially similar to certain regulations that authorize an EMT-I to receive training for naloxone hydrochloride administration without having to complete the entire emergency medical technician-II (EMT-II) certification course. (2) Existing law, the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, requires the Attorney General to encourage research on the misuse and abuse of controlled substances, and, in connection with that research, and in furtherance of the enforcement of the act, authorizes the Attorney General to undertake specific acts, including developing new or improved approaches, techniques, systems, equipment, and devices to strengthen the enforcement of the act. This bill would additionally permit the Attorney General, in connection with that research, and in furtherance of the enforcement of the act, to authorize hospitals and trauma centers to share information with local law enforcement agencies, the EMSA, and local emergency medical services agencies about controlled substances. The bill would limit the data that may be provided by hospitals and trauma centers to the number of overdoses and the substances suspected as the primary cause of the overdoses. The bill would require that the information shared be shared in a manner that ensures complete patient confidentiality.