Gov. Maggie Hassan is calling on the state's Board of Medicine to develop stronger rules for prescribers of painkillers to help prevent opioid abuse.
Hassan called on the board to select one of its members by week's end to work with her office and the attorney general's office to come up with proposed rules by the board's Oct. 7 meeting.
Hassan said the current recommendations are not rules and appear to be "outdated and inconsistent with the current understanding of the addictive propensities of opioids."
She cited as a "glaring example" of the inadequacy of the present recommendations a patient consent form containing the language "I am aware that the chance of becoming addicted to my pain medication is very low."
