Finalized standards on pain management clinics in Ohio will require operators to hold subspecialty board certification in pain management or a related field and complete continuing medical education in the field every two years, according to a report by the Portsmouth Daily Times.
The standards, created by the State Medical Board of Ohio, were mandated by a new state law meant to crack down on so-called pill mills, which dispense opioids without providing other therapies and which are often run by physicians who do not subspecialize in pain management.
However, on the urging of the state medical society, the board established a limited grandfather clause for non-board certified pain physicians who have worked full-time in pain medicine or a related field in the past three years. Also on the urging of the medical society, the board eliminated requiring pain clinic owners to have hospital privileges. The standards go into effect on June 20.
Read the Portsmouth Daily Times report on pill mills.
Read the medical board's final rule (pdf).
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