71-2418.

Legislative findings.

(1) The Legislature finds that many controlled substances have useful and legitimate medical and scientific purposes and are necessary to maintain the health and general welfare of the people of Nebraska. Principles of quality medical practice dictate that the people of Nebraska have access to appropriate and effective pain relief.

(2) The Legislature finds that the appropriate application of up-to-date knowledge and treatment modalities can serve to improve the quality of life for those patients who suffer from pain. The Legislature therefor encourages physicians to view effective pain management as a part of quality medical practice for all patients with pain, acute or chronic, including those patients who experience pain as a result of terminal illness.

(3) The Legislature finds that a physician should be able to prescribe, dispense, or administer a controlled substance in excess of the recommended dosage for the treatment of pain so long as such dosage is not administered for the purpose of causing, or the purpose of assisting in causing, death for any reason and so long as it conforms to policies and guidelines for the treatment of pain adopted by the Board of Medicine and Surgery.

(4) The Legislature finds that a health care facility, hospice, or third-party payor should not forbid or restrict the use of controlled substances appropriately administered for the treatment of pain.